Rory McIlroy's Pebble Beach pain as Wyndham Clark declared winner after weather wipes out final day

The 30-year-old American Clark was six shots behind before hitting a 12-under-par 60 on Saturday to take the lead on the third day.

He finished on 17-under par, one shot clear of Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and two shots ahead of France’s Matthieu Pavon after 54 holes.

McIlroy’s 69 round on Saturday included a run of six birdies and three bogeys to leave him tied 66th overall on a two-under tally.

He had opened his first PGA Tour event of the season with rounds of 71 and 74.

Strong wind and rain had postponed the final round to Monday, but a statement from the PGA Tour late on Sunday said after consulting the Monterey County emergency authorities and out of an “abundance of caution” for spectators and players, there would be no further play.

In a press conference call on Sunday, Clark said: “It’s pretty surreal right now.

“It’s maybe not the way you dream of winning.

“With that said, a lot of us yesterday had, not that we knew, but we definitely had this outside shot and thinking that maybe this is our last round.”

It was Clark’s third win in nine months after winning his first major at the US Open last year.

McIlroy’s next challenge will be across February 15-18 at The Genesis Invitational hosted by California’s The Riviera Country Club.