WM Phoenix Open Round 1: Wyndham Clark Goes Bogey-Free for a 64

A year after rain turned TPC Scottsdale into a swamp, the desert finally showed up for the WM Phoenix Open. Blue skies, perfect scoring weather, no excuses. Wyndham Clark took the hint.

Clark shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 on Thursday to grab a one-shot lead after the first round at the Stadium Course. Lee Hodges and Taylor Moore each shot 65 to sit tied for second at 6 under. Behind them is a seven-player logjam at 5 under that includes Justin Thomas, Thomas Detry, Nicolai Højgaard, Akshay Bhatia, Andrew Putnam, Camilo Villegas and Adam Schenk. Darkness halted play with nine players still on the course, and they wrapped up their opening rounds Friday morning before the second round got going.

Clark's Clean Card

The best part of Clark's round was the part that never showed up on the card. He birdied the first hole, then ripped off four straight birdies starting at the eighth. He added two more on the 13th and 15th, and through 16 holes he had not given a single shot back.

Then came the 17th, the drivable par 4 that is supposed to be a gift. Clark's tee shot found the water. For a guy sitting on a perfect round, that is the moment that can unravel everything. Instead he got his pitch onto the green, saved par, and parred the last to sign for 64.

"Needless to say that's a birdie hole, and to hit it in the water and not really have a birdie look is kind of unfortunate," Clark said, per the PGA TOUR.

The bigger story might be what was going on between his ears. Clark finished eighth in the FedExCup standings last season, but his 2025 has been bumpy: a tie for 15th at The Sentry, a missed cut at The American Express and a tie for 73rd at Pebble Beach last week. On Thursday he sounded like a player who had decided to stop fighting himself.

"You can't necessarily control the score and what happens to your golf ball, but you can control your thoughts," Clark said.

Eagles in Bunches

Hodges did not exactly ease into his 65 either. Starting on the back nine, Hodges made two eagles on that side, one of them a chip-in, then reeled off three straight birdies to open the front nine. It was the kind of card that looks like a typo until you check the hole-by-hole.

Moore found his gear in a different way. Moore piled up a 7-under stretch over seven holes, capped by an eagle on the par-5 third. On a course that hands out birdies on the par 5s and the short 17th, a run like that is exactly how you climb a crowded board.

The 66 Club

Seven players shot 66, and the list has some weight to it. Thomas made six birdies, including a 45-footer on the par-4 fifth, and played his second nine in 3-under 32, capped by a 15-foot birdie on the ninth. His only blemish was a bogey on the par-3 12th, and he answered it right away with birdies on the 14th and 15th.

"I feel like staying patient is important out here because you can make a lot of birdies," Thomas said, per the AP.

Detry was 4 under when the horn sounded Thursday night and finished off a 66 Friday morning. Nicolai Højgaard matched that number, one ahead of twin brother Rasmus, who opened with 68. Bhatia, Putnam, Villegas and Schenk filled out the group at 5 under. By the end of Thursday, 24 players had shot 68 or better, which tells you the scoring window was wide open.

Scheffler's Wild Ride

Scottie Scheffler's 69 deserves its own highlight reel. It was only his second start since he punctured his hand making ravioli for Christmas dinner, and the round looked every bit like a player knocking off rust and then remembering who he is.

He opened with a bogey. He bogeyed the par-4 fifth after shanking a bunker shot, which is a sentence nobody expected to write about the world No. 1. Then he holed out from a fairway bunker from 104 yards for eagle on the 10th. He made double on the par-3 12th after his tee shot found the water, birdied the 13th, rolled in a 7-footer for eagle on the 15th and birdied the 17th. He nearly added one more on 18. Bogey, bogey, eagle, double, birdie, eagle, birdie: that is a full season of emotions in one afternoon, and he still finished 2 under and five back.

Jordan Spieth opened with 68 in his second event since offseason wrist surgery, a quiet, solid start for a player still finding his rhythm. Defending champion Nick Taylor shot 70. Rickie Fowler, whose camo look turned heads this week, struggled to a 74.

Where It Stands

The Stadium Course gave up low numbers in perfect weather, and with 24 players at 3 under or better, a one-shot lead is about as thin as cushions get. Clark has the scoring and, maybe more importantly, the calm. Hodges and Moore have the hot hands. Thomas, Detry and the rest of that 5-under pack are one good nine away from the top.

Friday brings a busy morning to finish the first round, then the full second round and a cut line that will be crowded with names. At the loudest stop on the schedule, nobody in this field is going to have a quiet afternoon.

Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap and leaderboard), AP, ESPN leaderboard. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.