Up by 5 in BMW, Wyndham Clark knows how nervy it is to hold big leads on Sunday

ST. LOUIS — Wyndham Clark takes a five-stroke lead into the final round of the BMW Championship after a masterful putting performance Saturday at Bellerive Country Club with perhaps more to gain than anyone else in the 50-man field.

Despite a double bogey on the first hole and a bogey at the last, Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion, scorched Bellerive for a five-under 65, equaling the low score in the third round. His 17-under 193 total is five better than Masters champ Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay, who twice has won this FedEx Cup playoff event.

“I just have to keep doing what I’m doing,” said Clark, 32, who converted 139 feet of putts in notching six birdies and an eagle. “If I shoot even par, one of the guys closest has to shoot 65. If the scores are low, then I should be able to shoot a good one, too.”

Twice a winner this year in what constitutes a comeback season after poor play and regrettable displays of temper, Clark could make a case for PGA Tour Player of the Year with a third win, joining Chris Gotterup and Matt Fitzpatrick for the tour lead. Even McIlroy, who also shot 65 Saturday to post 198, had to admit during a CBS interview that maybe his declaration earlier this week that Scottie Scheffler had the award all but locked up for a fifth straight year was slightly premature.

What’s more, Clark is determined to earn a spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team with one of the six automatic berths awarded at the end of this tournament. He entered the week seventh.

Clark has been in this position before, having led by six shots through 54 holes of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills before hanging on for a one-stroke victory over Sam Burns.

“I always sleep good. But it's more the angst when you wake up. That's usually when I feel it. You wake up and you have that little pit in your stomach, you're excited to go play, and you wish you were teeing off right as you wake up so you didn't have to think about it,” Clark said. “But it's also fun. That's kind of what we love as athletes and we chase after the moment, so I'm looking forward to it.”

He’ll be joined in the final pairing with McIlroy in a battle of major winners. A week after showing considerable rust in finishing 66th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, the Northern Irishman is rounding into form again. Which he said might not be an accident.

“I'm trying to remember the last time I played two weeks in a row; it's been a while,” he said with a laugh. “Honestly, I did the same thing a couple years ago going from Memphis to this tournament. Finished nearly dead last at Memphis and then got it together and played a bit better at Castle Pines. So yeah, I would say if Memphis is always my first week coming back, I would say the next week's always, I bet that it's going to be better.”

Asked if Bellerive was a golf course that enabled a rally, McIlroy nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think it gives you the ability to. I think you can be aggressive here.”

Cantlay, who shot 66, is chasing his first victory in four years when he successfully defended his title in this event. Having arrived at Bellerive 43rd in the FedEx Cup points standings, he needed a strong performance to climb into the top 30 and qualify for next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

Also seeking to move inside the top 30 is first- and second-round co-leader Gary Woodland, who settled for a 70 on Saturday and is tied for fourth at 11-under 199 with Gotterup, who shot 68. Woodland began the week 31st and is currently projected to finish 19th.

Sungjae Im, seventh at 201, is attempting to pull off a rare double move. He played his way into this field of the top 50 by finishing T-5 in Memphis to jump from 53rd to 40th on the FedEx Cup points list. He is on the bubble at a projected No. 30 with one round to play.

Projected to fall out of the top 30 are Kurt Kitayama, Rickie Fowler and Bud Cauley. None of the three are in the top 30 through 54 holes.

Should Clark win, he would jump from seventh to third in the U.S. team standings for the Presidents Cup. With only the top six players in the standings after Sunday earning automatic spots, No. 6 Collin Morikawa is solo sixth on the BMW leaderboard at 10 under and projected to keep his spot. But Ben Griffin, given his current position, would fall from fifth to eighth behind Morikawa and Gotterup. Griffin is T-35 at Bellerive at 1 under.