Arnold Palmer Invitational: Wyndham Clark ‘sacks up’ to sink 9 birdies for share of lead

Windham Clark made a lot of birdies at the Bay Hill course, which has been compared to the U.S. Open because of its difficulty.

He knows how to succeed on difficult golf courses, considering Clark won the U.S. Open last year at Los Angeles Country Club.

That’s exactly what he did that Friday.

“I always like to think I have nine birdies, but no, this golf course is one of the toughest on tour,” Clark said after his round.

“There are no holes where you feel like you can just get a birdie. You have to stay focused and hit great shots. [need] To hit a great tee shot, you have to hit a great second shot, and if you can do that, it’s a birdie hole. ”

Clark put this formula into practice early and often, getting birdies on the third, fourth and sixth holes and quickly reaching the championship at 4 under.

However, he made a few mistakes on the par-4 eighth hole and the par-4 ninth hole, two of the most difficult holes at Bay Hill. There, he made two consecutive bogeys and fell back to 2 under.

He then bounced back with a birdie on the short par-4 10th, but inexplicably bogeyed the par-5 12th, one of the easiest holes on the course.

Regardless, Clark called his bogey putt on No. 12 the best putt he made that day, but his 32-foot putt on No. 17, 18:00 27 feet.

“The bogey putt on No. 12 was about 5 feet,” Clark explained.

“There’s very little grass on the greens right now. They’re so fast. That putt could have wiggled off the line, and essentially a double on the birdie hole would have been terrible.” It was one of those putts, so being able to make it was huge.”

This gave Clark the momentum to birdie five of the final six holes.

But of those five par breakers, the one Clark was most proud of was his first one at age 13.

“The statistic that I always love is … excelling, and that’s rebounding,” Clark said.

“So it was big to get 13 birdies after 12 bogeys. It was a pretty straight putt, and a straight putt from 20 feet is very difficult. We just played inside and it was our stayed where I wanted it to be.”

Interestingly, until last year, Mr. Clark strongly despised Bay Hill. He told himself that after his first appearance at Ernie’s Place he would never return.

That changed last year as the Arnold Palmer Invitational became a designated tour event. But if it weren’t for that prestigious field, Clark would have ignored it altogether.

“To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations last year. I hit really well and before I knew it I was in the top 20, so I thought, ‘Okay, my game has progressed to a point where I think I can play here.’ ” Clark recalled.

“So I continued to have the same mentality this week. Honestly, for me, qualifying and being where I am now is a win on a course that probably hasn’t traditionally been my preference.”

The complete change in Clark’s mental approach is a testament to his tenacity and fortitude, two aspects of his life that he has been working on over the past several years.

But now that he’s in contention on a grueling golf course, there’s only one thing Clark can do over the final 36 holes.

“Suck up”

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.