In what was arguably the comeback of the decade, Tiger Woods completed a round of 70 to win the 2019 Masters by 1 stroke. As he embraced his mother, Kultida, after clinching his 15th major, he said, “We did it!” recalling every tournament she took him to as a kid, every piece of advice she ever gave him. In that moment, little did Woods know that his interaction with ‘Tida’ (his mother) would stick with a 25-year-old Wyndham Clark.

Four years later, as Clark was on the verge of winning the 2023 US Open, he couldn’t help but recall Tiger Woods’ Augusta interaction with his mother. Nor the words he said about ‘Tida’ while being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. Because as Clark was sinking his final putt to win his first major, his late mother’s two-word mantra was repeating in his head: “Play big.”

In 2013, Wyndham Clark lost his mother to breast cancer, and when that happened, he’d almost quit golf. But in a comeback similar to that of Tiger Woods in Augusta, the 30-year-old said after winning the US Open: “I just felt like my mom was watching over me today.” A decade after her passing, 2023 was shaping up to be a good year for the PGA Tour professional.

Just a month before winning his first major, Wyndham Clark won the Wells Fargo Championship, too! Add to that his third-place finishes in the Zurich Classic and the Tour Championship – and a handful of other top-15 results – and Clark was almost sad that the 2023 season was coming to an end. Considering the momentum he’d gained throughout the year, he wanted to keep going. But when 2024 came around, things didn’t go as planned.

In a chat on the No Laying Up podcast, Wyndham Clark joined Chris Solomon and discussed this past season. “I went up a lot last year and then plateaued a little bit. And then I felt like I went down in my mental game a touch.” Revealing his plans for the offseason, Clark added, “So, I’m hoping to get that rise again… my feelings on the golf course need to get better.” When Solomon mentioned how mental training needs the same attention as physical training, Clark couldn’t help but elaborate.

“Everything that goes on in your social and personal life typically comes inside the ropes in golf. You saw for Tiger. He was great for so long. When his personal stuff got to a certain point, it started affecting his game. It does it to all of us,” he explained.

Woods won six times in 2009 before his personal life crumbled in full public view. The 15-time major champion was forced to take a hiatus from golf. Woods’ best output in 2010 was a solo second at the Chevron World Challenge, with three other top-five finishes. By no means a paltry performance, but by his standard, a far cry from the peak-World No.1 Woods. Even when he made a comeback to the winner’s circle, it was in the 2011 Chevron Challenge in December, the tournament he hosted for his foundation. 

In situations similar to the ones Tiger Woods faced, Clark believes his “daily disciplines” help you get through them. “The daily disciplines for you mental and spiritual life is so huge because it helps you when you get into certain circumstances. Your mind is already trained… the training kicks in and you react in the way you want.” They’re almost like your mind’s reflex; it’s muscle memory. “But if you get away from that, you start falling back into your old habits and doing things you don’t want to do,” he explained.

But it’s not always easy. As the 30-year-old suggested, “You can be in a great mental game on the golf course, but the influences away from the course can really affect your golf game.” That’s what happened in 2013 when his mother’s untimely death from breast cancer put his own career in a tailspin. His amateur ranking fell to 241 as his form dwindled.

“As I struggled after my mom’s death, I lost confidence in my golf,” the former US Open champion confessed in an interview with Golf Digest. Clark resorted to Faith to come out of the vortex of pain. He changed colleges and started everything afresh. Starting afresh also included (reluctantly) seeing a sports psychologist. Although he may not have been on board with the idea to begin with, Clark admitted it’s “been an awesome journey.” 

Discussing this in an interview with FOX before the Masters this season, Clark said something similar to the No Laying Up podcast: “In golf, I was so focused on outcome and results. I wasn’t getting results – now I’m focused on making myself better and growing mentally both on and off the course… Now, I’m getting the results and the outcomes I want.” 

Interestingly enough, perhaps there is one other person who would agree with Clark. Strangely, Clark’s comments came at a time when Rory McIlroy was hinting at a realization that he lost a sense of what’s more important. Family. Friends. And his career.

Wyndham Clark’s comments echoed Rory McIlroy’s thoughts

What makes it harder for golfers to stay focused? The higher you climb, the greater the burden becomes. Endorsements, media appearances, gala dinners. After everything, it’s easy to lose sight of what comes first. “Whether you are trying to play your best golf, or trying to be the best husband,” as Wyndham Clark put it. 

Oddly enough, McIlroy, too, had a similar epiphany. By no means has the Ulsterman played worst, but that missing killer instinct has cost him at least two majors. The Northern Irishman confessed. He wished he hadn’t gotten too involved in the PIF-PGA Tour merger and focused on his game instead. “I wish I hadn’t have gotten involved, or not ‘hadn’t have gotten involved,’ but hadn’t have gotten as deeply involved in it.”

Reportedly, it took a toll on his personal life as well. McIlroy and Erica Stoll announced a shock divorce in May. Although the two have reconciled, a source revealed at that time that McIlroy’s involvement in the negotiations took a chunk of his family time, causing a rift between the couple. Per his ex-agent, it affected McIlroy’s form as well.

And, here is what McIlroy said last month in a chat with Patrick Kielty, “Golf and the business of golf had become all-consuming for me for the last couple of years and I needed to take a bit of time away to realize what was actually important to me.” Clearly, family and career have brought Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy to a similar conclusion.