Wyndham Clark found his best putting after his lead disappeared. Miyu Yamashita never stopped pressing with one safely in hand. Both showed why the closing stroke still deserves a committed roll.
Compiled weekly by multiple-award-winning PGA Professional Brendon R. Elliott, PrimePutt's Director of Instruction and Lead Writer.
Wyndham Clark waited 15 holes for his first birdie Sunday. Miyu Yamashita arrived at the final green with the CPKC Women’s Open already secure. Both still had one more putt that mattered.
The scoreboards told two very different stories. Yamashita had room to coast. Clark had no room left at all. Neither finished by guiding the ball toward the cup. The competitive situation should influence the decision, but it should not drain the commitment from the stroke.
Yamashita Never Let the Lead Change the Roll
Yamashita kept tightening her grip on the tournament at Royal Mayfair Golf Club with rounds of 62, 64, 65 and 66. The 23-under 257 total matched the LPGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record and produced a nine-shot victory over Yuri Yoshida.
The putting started hot and stayed reliable. Yamashita had taken only 79 putts through three rounds, and her lead had grown to six. The easy reaction would have been to begin protecting the margin and allowing the stroke to become more careful with each hole.
Instead, she kept playing the golf in front of her. Yamashita closed with a 4-under 66, then birdied the 18th to tie the record. That putt did not decide the tournament. It showed she had remained engaged in it.
Conservative strategy can be smart with a large lead. A defensive stroke begins when the golfer tries to avoid a mistake instead of rolling the ball to a chosen target. Yamashita managed the scoreboard without letting it manage her motion.
Clark Found His Stroke After the Lead Was Gone
Clark began the final round of the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club five shots ahead of Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay. Eleven holes later, McIlroy had erased the entire deficit.
Clark had made three bogeys and no birdies. He described feeling as though he could not make anything. Then came the 232-yard, par-3 16th. Clark hit a 5-iron just outside 15 feet and made the putt. McIlroy missed from a similar distance, and Clark finally had his nose in front again.
“When I made the putt on the par 3, it got me back,” Clark said.
It changed the finish. Clark birdied the 17th as McIlroy made bogey, creating a two-shot swing, then rolled in a 17-footer at the 18th for a third consecutive birdie. His even-par 70 completed a 17-under 263 total and a three-shot victory over Cantlay, who also birdied the final three holes to finish second and advance to the Tour Championship.
Clark’s closing run is a reminder that a difficult putting day does not need to be repaired before the next good putt can be struck. He found enough clarity for the putt in front of him, then did it again twice more.
What the Week Teaches
Late in a round, the scoreboard may require a different target or a more conservative speed. That is strategy. The problem begins when “do not three-putt” produces a jabby first putt, or “do not miss this” turns a 5-footer into a guided push.
Make the strategic choice before stepping over the ball. Once the read, start line and arrival speed are set, return to the same routine and the same committed motion you would use on the practice green.
Yamashita kept playing with a lead. Clark started again after losing one. Both rolled the next putt rather than carrying the entire tournament into the stroke.
The PrimePutt Drill of the Week: The Three-Hole Closeout
This game gives the final few putts of practice a scoreboard and makes you finish with one ball. Set up a 5-foot putt, a breaking putt from 10 to 12 feet and a putt from 25 to 30 feet. Use your full routine and hole every station before moving on.
Play the three stations as closing holes:
-
Hole 16, 5 feet for par: Make it to stay even. A miss is bogey.
-
Hole 17, 10 to 12 feet for birdie: A make is birdie, a two-putt is par and a three-putt is bogey.
-
Hole 18, 25 to 30 feet: A make is birdie, a two-putt is par and a three-putt is bogey.
Complete three circuits, changing the angle or break before each one. Finish every circuit at even par or better and complete all nine holes without a three-putt. There are no restarts.
On a PrimePutt mat, use the longest roll available for the final station and define the safe finish window before beginning. The purpose is to make a clear speed decision when the score has started to matter.
Your Closing-Holes Checklist
-
Read the situation before you read the putt.
-
Choose the safest useful target, not merely the safest thought.
-
Decide the arrival speed before setting the start line.
-
Make one rehearsal that matches that speed.
-
Aim the face, settle the body and let the stroke finish.
-
Accept the result before walking to the next putt.
YTD Putting Watch
Data checked: Aug. 24, 2026
PGA Tour SG: Putting leaders
-
Jacob Bridgeman, +0.704
-
Vince Whaley, +0.639
-
Alex Noren, +0.632
-
Sam Burns, +0.630
-
Scottie Scheffler, +0.606
LPGA Tour Average Putts Per Round leaders
-
Minami Katsu, 28.14
-
Mi Hyang Lee, 28.27
-
Hyo Joo Kim, 28.40
-
Alexa Pano, 28.64
-
Angel Yin, 28.66
These categories measure different things. PGA Tour Strokes Gained: Putting compares performance on the greens against the field. LPGA Tour Average Putts Per Round is influenced by greens hit and the distance of a player’s first putt. It offers useful context, but it is not a direct comparison with strokes gained or a complete measure of putting skill.
The Everyday Golfer Takeaway
Most golfers will not putt for an LPGA scoring record or a FedEx Cup playoff title. Plenty will reach the 16th tee with a personal best or match still in play.
Let the score influence the plan, then leave it out of the stroke. Pick the target, match the speed and roll the ball with the same freedom you had before you began counting what the round could become.
Final Roll
Yamashita birdied the last because she never stopped playing. Clark birdied the last three because he refused to let the first 15 holes write the ending. Pressure does not always ask for a more aggressive putt. It does ask for a fully committed one.
Pressure Putts drops every Monday with the week's best putting stories, stats and drills from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and DP World Tour. Got a putting question or drill request? Drop us a line.
