|
Having seen his three-shot lead over Rory
McIlroy whittled down to one, and with two daunting par fours
still ahead of him at the Los Angeles Country Club, Clark drew
inspiration from his mother Lise, who died of breast cancer in
2013 at the age of 54.
After his winning putt dropped on 18, Clark's thoughts
immediately turned to her.
"My mom was so positive and such a motivator in what she did,"
Clark said. "She called me 'Winner' when I was little, so she
would just say, 'I love you, Winner.' She had a mantra of 'play
big'."
The 29-year-old from Denver said his mother used to leave notes
of encouragement in his golf bag, gym bag and backpack when he
was young, sometimes leading to embarrassing moments in front of
friends.
Those notes turned to text messages as he got older and he was
away playing tournaments.
He said he misses those exchanges now.
"I was a mama's boy, so there would be a lot of hugging and
crying together," he said.
"But I know she'd be very proud of me. I miss her, and it's
obviously great to think about her, and being here in LA and
winning something like this makes me think of her even more than
maybe my day-to-day when I'm not playing a championship."
Clark broke down in tears as soon as his short par putt sealed
the win and covered his face with his hat before his playing
partner Rickie Fowler embraced him.
"Your mom was with you," Fowler told Clark.
"She'd be very proud."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
