Wyndham Clark Expresses Gratitude to God After Winning U.S. Open
By Movieguide® Contributor
During post-tournament interviews, golfer Wyndham Clark gave glory to God and thanked Him for giving him a platform at the highest level in golf.
“God has a plan for me, and it’s obviously far greater than I ever could have imagined,” he said. “And so, being here now, I just feel so blessed. It’s honestly surreal to look back and think about the journey, the last seven to ten years.”
Clark entered the PGA in 2016 after golfing at Oklahoma State and Oregon State in college. Even when he was young, he was bold about his faith.
“This is bigger than just me,” Clark told the Denver Post in 2011 as he prepared for the high school state championship. “It’s helping my team and the school and it’s to honor and glorify God.”
During his freshman year of college, Clark lost his mother to breast cancer. He had always been close to her so the loss was devastating. While he didn’t show much emotion in everyday life, anger permeated his golf game.
“When I was on the golf course, I couldn’t have been angrier,” Clark said. “I was breaking clubs when I didn’t even hit that bad of a shot; I was walking off golf courses.”
Clark’s coach approached him and recommended that he take some time away from the game to grieve and heal. Although he resisted a first – not wanting to feel like a failure – Clark eventually obliged and during that time away from golf, was able to find true healing.
In 2016, he posted a tribute to his mom, celebrating that she is spending eternity with Jesus.
Since returning from his break in college, Clark’s mom has remained at the forefront of his mind, however, instead of filling him with rage, it now encourages him knowing that she is cheering him on from heaven. He mentioned her often after winning on Sunday.
“All I really wish is that my mom could be here and that I could hug her and we could celebrate together,” he said. “I know she’s proud of me.”
To secure only his second win on the Tour, Clark had to beat out hometown hero Ricke Fowler, 4-time major champion Rory McIlroy, and current rank no. 1 Scottie Scheffler. With only four holes to play, Clark led by three strokes, but a bogey on 15 and 16 put the pressure on. Clark was able to sink back-to-back pars, finishing one stroke ahead of McIlroy.
Movieguide® previously reported on pro golfer Scottie Scheffler:
Scheffler’s win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Feb. 13, the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 6, and the Dell Technologies Match Play on March 27 have him atop the Official World Golf Ranking.
“My friends are still making fun of me, I’ve still got to do my chores at home and nothing really changes,” he told Sports Spectrum. “It’s been really cool to see the guys come up and say congrats and, you know, be genuinely happy for me. I think the environment out here on tour is pretty cool when it comes to that kind of stuff.”
The Texas-born native thanked God after his first victory of the year in February.
After getting his first victory in February, Scheffler gave thanks to God in an Instagram post:
But Scheffler notes that his faith extends beyond his performance on the field.
“People a lot of times think, well, if you become a Christian, God’s just gonna make everything easy for you, and that’s not the case,” he told Sports Spectrum. “But having the God of the universe, the Creator, on your side just makes things a lot easier to deal with. And the principles of the Bible are something that, when you use them, you can see it manifest in your life.”
In a separate interview, Scheffler said: “I’m a Christian guy, so that’s important to me. But even if you’re not a Christian, life is important to spend with people you enjoy. If you don’t have close, quality friends, I don’t think whatever you’re doing is important. So that would be my most important advice to someone. Find something you enjoy doing, and enjoy doing it with other people.”
- Content: +4Share:
- Content: +4