Wyndham Clark overcame the swift loss of his overnight lead to claim his first PGA Tour title in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Clark’s two-shot advantage was wiped out in the first three holes and the 29-year-old American found himself a shot behind playing partner Xander Schauffele after seven holes of the final round at Quail Hollow.

However, Clark responded superbly to birdie five of the next eight and with Schauffele stumbling around the turn, the win became something of a formality.

A closing 68 gave Clark a winning total of 19 under par and four-shot victory over Schauffele, with England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Harris English three strokes further back in third.

Tommy Fleetwood and former world number one Adam Scott finished in a tie for fifth on 11 under.

“Gosh, sorry, I’m a little choked up,” Clark told CBS after joining the likes of Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Max Homa in making the Wells Fargo Championship their maiden PGA Tour title.

“It’s been a long five years to get to this point on Tour and I thought I would have had one earlier, but it’s well worth the wait and I’m so grateful.

“There’s so much that goes into this and there’s so many times I wanted to cry and break clubs – and I did break the club sometimes – in this journey and to get to this point is so sweet.

“It’s just amazing to finally do this.

“I didn’t start out great, I was kind of shaky and I think in years past I might have folded. This time I just stayed patient and hung in there and got hot on the back side.”

Birdies on the closing two holes gave Tommy Fleetwood the first round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship as Rory McIlroy made solid return to action.

Fleetwood shot a bogey-free 65 as he continued his pursuit of a first PGA Tour title, one better than a group on five under – Xander Schauffele, Kevin Streelman, Taylor Moore, KH Lee and Ryan Palmer.

McIlroy, playing for the first time since missing the cut at the US Masters, is three strokes behind after an opening 68 on his 34th birthday at Quail Hollow.

Fleetwood has won six times on the DP World Tour, but the Englishman is still chasing a first title in the US.

“I just have to keep going and wait for those really big results and hopefully start contending again up at the top of the leaderboard,” said Fleetwood. “We’ll see what we can do from there.”

McIlroy has won three times at Quail Hollow with nine top 10 finishes in 11 starts, but he admitted not touching his clubs for more than two weeks after the disappointment at the Masters.

“I feel relaxed here,” he said. “It’s just a level of comfort at this golf course and at this club that I probably don’t have any other venue.

“I’ve played here so many times I know where to miss it. I missed a few greens but I didn’t feel like I hit the ball that badly.

“It was just really nice to be out there again… nice to feel like I played well. I didn’t want to spend my birthday afternoon grinding on the range.”

Schaufelle had looked on course to set the early pace, but two bogeys in Quail Hollow’s notorious closing three holes – dubbed the “Green Mile” – left him one off the lead.

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick finished a stroke behind playing partners McIlroy and Justin Thomas, his 69 matched by fellow Englishman Tyrell Hatton with defending champion Max Homa opening with a 70.

English trio Matt Wallace, Callum Tarren and Harry Hall also opened with one-under-par 70s while Tony Finau, winner in Mexico last week, shot a 71.

Max Homa held on down the stretch to win the Wells Fargo Championship for a second time at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.

The 31-year-old finished eight under after a two-under 68 on Sunday, eventually winning by two strokes, but it was anything but smooth sailing.

Starting the day at six under, Homa birdied the opening hole as well as the fifth, and after a bogey at seven, he responded strongly with back-to-back birdies on nine and 10.

The 2019 champion was locked in a tight battle with 54-hole leader Keegan Bradley, who double-bogeyed the second hole and the 11th. Another Bradley bogey at 15 allowed Homa to open up a three-stroke lead with a birdie on the same hole.

But the margin was cut back to one just a hole later as the roles reversed on the 16th, where Homa had to sink a tricky bogey putt to avoid the scores being levelled.

After both made par on the difficult par-three 17th, Homa teed off on the last with a one stroke lead, and he had the luxury of seeing Bradley put his drive in the bunker first to take the pressure off. Homa made no mistakes, taking even par to seal the two-stroke win as Bradley bogeyed.

It is the American's fourth career PGA Tour win and second of the season after winning the Fortinet Championship in September to kick off the 2021-22 calendar.

Speaking to the media after stepping off the 18th green, Homa said he and his caddy had been reminiscing about how much had changed since their first career win at this tournament at the Quail Hollow Club and paid respect to Bradley for a gripping battle.

"It's crazy, I was thinking about it when I was walking to the first tee," he said.

"[Caddy] Joe [Greiner] and I were talking about it in 2019 – I was leaning on Joe to help me, he was talking about getting to the tee after Rory [McIlroy] so I didn't have to hear the roar. 

"I didn't have to deal with that [this time] – I've got a great support system on this tour. [The crowd was] a little crazy, but it's super awesome. I'm coming into my own, I'm starting to believe in myself a lot, and that's all I can ask for.

"Keegan is a really good golfer – he hits it so well, and he holed some really good putts. 

"I was just trying to play my game and see what happened – he made an unbelievable birdie on 16 while I was trying not to make double. 

"I knew he was never going to go away – I was watching the guys behind – but I felt like eight or nine under was going to be pretty good, and I was just focusing on hitting good shots and not worrying about the bogeys."

In a tie for second at six under were Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young, with the latter's final-round 66 matching the second-best score of the day.

After finishing round two right on the cut-line, Rory McIlroy produced two consecutive 68s to claim outright fifth place at four under..

The round of the day belonged to Stewart Cink, with his five-under 65 seeing him shoot up into the top 10.

Keegan Bradley shot a three-under 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after 54 holes at the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday.

The 35-year-old scored the low-round on a rain-interrupted day at TPC Potomac to finish on eight-under after 54 holes.

After splitting two birdies and bogeys on the front nine, Bradley regrouped on the back nine with two birdies on the opening three holes, before claiming another on the par-four 16th hole.

Max Homa is two strokes back on six-under after a one-over 71 for the day, with Anirban Lahiri and James Hahn a further two strokes back on four-under.

Heavy rain in Maryland during the week has wreaked havoc at Avenel Farm, but the windy conditions were just as impactful on Saturday's play, requiring particularly gritty shot selection.

Jason Day began the round with a three-stroke lead but shot a disappointing nine-over on moving day, with his tournament unravelling on the front nine.

Day found the water on consecutive holes after a bogey on the par-three third, posting a triple-bogey and bogey respectively, and then scored a double-bogey on the par-five 10th to eventually finish on 79.

While Bradley had the day's low round, only four players cracked par on Saturday, including Rory McIlroy who recovered from Friday's score of 73 and bogeys on the opening two holes to post two-under for the day.

Bradley will come into Sunday seeking his fifth PGA Tour tournament win, with his last coming at the 2018 BMW Championship, which he won in a playoff over Justin Rose.

Jason Day will head into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship as a strong favourite after extending his first-round lead to three strokes in Friday's action.

After posting a 63 in much friendlier Thursday conditions, Day was solid again, birdieing two of his first three holes, and was four under through 13. 

After a bogey on 14 and 17, he ended his day on the right foot with a birdie on 18 for a three-under 67, sitting at 10 under through two rounds.

Day, who has not won a PGA Tour event since 2018, told the media after stepping off the 18th green that he is excited to be back in this position after previously spending 51 weeks as the world number one before a number of injuries.

"I'm looking forward to it – it's nice to be back in the mix, nice to be leading," he said. "It's still two more days left, so I can't get too far ahead of myself.

"I mean, not many times you see this hair (after being forced to play without a hat due to the rain), but hopefully this weather can kind of go away and we can have hats on for the weekend.

"When you have conditions like this, it's really hard to commit to a shot because you're going in there and you're doing it kind of a lot quicker than your normal pre-shot routine.

"You have to force yourself to hit the shot and trust that."

Max Homa has a hold of outright second at seven under after posting a 66 – tied for the second-best round of the day. Also shooting 66 was Luke List, who drove the green on the par-four 14th hole to putt in for eagle, flying up the leaderboard into a tie for third at six under.

One shot further back at five under is a small group highlighted by Keegan Bradley, who had the round of the day with seven birdies and two bogeys for his 65.

A strong international contingent is in a tie for 10th at four under, with English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick, as well as India's Anirban Lahiri and Slovakia's Rory Sabbatini.

Abraham Ancer is part of the group at three under, while some big names are a further shot back, including Tony Finau, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas.

Rory McIlroy, Corey Conners and Matt Kuchar will live to see the weekend after finishing right on the cut line at even par, while Aaron Rai was not so lucky, going from a bogey-free 65 on Thursday to a birdie-free 76, missing the cut at one over.

Also missing the cut was Charl Schwartzel, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman and Webb Simpson.

Sergio Garcia appeared to suggest he is ready to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series – the Super Golf League – in a moment of frustration at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The former Masters champion was handed a penalty by a PGA Tour referee during Thursday's first round for taking too long looking for a lost ball at the 10th hole.

A statement later clarified the referee was not aware much of Garcia's time was spent trying to access the other side of a creek where he had been told the ball landed.

This "inadvertent error" meant the time clock was not paused as it should have been, although Garcia's score was not altered following the clarification.

The Spaniard was informed of this decision, but he had already made his anger clear.

Television coverage showed Garcia ranting: "I can't wait to leave this tour. I can't wait to get out of here.

"Just a couple more weeks and I don't have to deal with you any more."

Those comments seemingly confirmed Garcia's decision to head to LIV Golf, which begins its breakaway league in London next month.

Garcia reportedly refused to speak to reporters and clarify his comments following his three-under 67.

A chip-in on the 15th hole propelled Jason Day to the outright lead on his way to a seven-under 63 in the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship.

After a solid front nine, where he birdied three of his first five holes, it was an action-packed second nine. He birdied 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16, with his sole bogey coming on the 13th.

Only posting three top-10 finishes from 22 events last season – with a best result of tied-seventh – Day is already in search of his third top-10 result this season in his 11th event, seemingly rediscovering some of the form that has seen him spend 51 weeks as the world number one.

Speaking to the media after stepping off the 18th green, Day was careful to not get ahead of himself, but emphasised his focus on creativity as opposed to just technique.

"I'm obviously, I think, a long way away from being that confident in myself in regards to my game," he said.

"But I feel like [with what I've worked on with my swing] I'm a little bit more creative on the golf course, because at some point you have to get out of the technical aspect and go more creative.

"I feel like things are progressing nicely, and I just have to keep my head down and keep going.

"It is actually very encouraging [to be healthy and confident in his body] because typically if I play well, then people ask me how my back is, and that's probably not something you want to always constantly want to be talking about.

"I've done a lot of work, and been very diligent and disciplined in my approach to staying healthy. I get hiccups every now and then, but for the most part – touch wood – I've been really good."

There was a spectacular start to the day for American Joel Dahmen, who was six under through eight holes, including four consecutive birdies starting on the fifth, before cooling off and finishing at six under for outright second.

One shot further back in the group tied for third were England's Aaron Rai and Callum Tarren, who had just one bogey between them.

Rickie Fowler highlighted the next group at four under after coming back from one over through eight holes, with four birdies, one eagle and one bogey in the last 10. 

Fowler sat one stroke ahead of a logjam at three under, which included defending champion Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Max Homa and Matt Kuchar, with England's Matt Fitzpatrick and India's Anirban Lahiri at two under.

Rory McIlroy branded plans for a Super Golf League "a money grab" as he underlined his opposition towards any breakaway competition.

A report in the Daily Telegraph this week outlined proposals for the Saudi Arabia-backed event, referred to as the Premier Golf League, with high-profile players said to have been offered hugely lucrative incentives to join.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addressed players ahead of the Wells Fargo Championship this week, where McIlroy is playing, with a Sky Sports report indicating professionals have been warned they will face immediate expulsion from the Tour should they sign up for closed-shop competition.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley announced opposition towards the alternative league "in the strongest possible terms", adding: "Since the launch of our strategic alliance last November, our two organisations have been working together to make global golf less fractured and not create further division, with the interests of all players and fans at the forefront of our thinking."

McIlroy, who said he was first approached about a breakaway format seven years ago, compared the proposals to football's European Super League, plans for which were largely abandoned 48 hours after it was announced due to an outrcry from fans and key figures in the sport.

"Maybe the source of the money has changed or the people that are in charge have changed, but nothing has happened [since 2014]," McIlroy, a four-time major winner, said on Wednesday.

"If you go back to what happened last week in Europe with the European Super League in football, people can see it for what it is, which is a money grab, which is fine if that's what you're playing golf for is to make as much money as possible. Totally fine, then go and do that if that's what makes you happy.

"But I'm playing this game to try to cement my place in history and my legacy and to win major championships and to win the biggest tournaments in the world. I honestly don't think there's a better structure in place in golf, and I don't think there will be.

"You have the strategic partnership as well between Europe and the PGA Tour and that's only going to strengthen the structure of golf going forward as well in terms of scheduling and all sorts of other stuff and working together a little bit more.

"I don't think it was a coincidence that the news came out yesterday just as the PGA Tour was having their annual player meeting and Jay addressing the membership. Yeah, I think you all know my feelings on it and I'm very much against it. I don't see why anyone would be for it."

"You saw what happened last week with the European Super League. The top 12 clubs got together and said 'let's keep more of the money for ourselves', and people didn't like that. It affects competition, it affects the integrity of competition. I just can't see how it works.

"It's a complicated issue, but I just don't see at this point how it can get going. And the possibility that people, if they do go in that direction, can't play in the biggest tournaments in the game?

"The game of golf, whether it's a right thing or a wrong thing, is so about history. We still talk about Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen and Ben Hogan and all those guys because that's what this game is. It's steeped in history and the legacies that those guys have."