Seven weeks ago, Wyndham Clark was a relative nobody on the PGA Tour. That is how you, I, and everyone else saw him. Just another unknown tour player, we know the name but other than that we know nothing about the guy.
Here’s what they think of you…
In 1991 when Ice Cube broke away from NWA his first track off his solo album was “No Vaseline”. A dis track towards his old group, and record company. In the intro to the song there is 30 seconds of Cube saying, “Here’s what they think of you” and then people talking shit about him. When the track drops, he goes off on all his critics.
Sunday at the US Open no one wanted Wyndham Clark to win the tournament. The fans wanted Rickie Fowler or Rory McIlroy. The fans on the course were verbally rooting against him. The NBC broadcast went into full jinx mode hoping Clark would bogey the final hole to setup a playoff.
After the tournament golf commentators were disparaging and comparing the win to when Webb Simpson’s US Open win as if a nobody won the tournament. Their narratives of Rickie or Rory was crushed. The Twitter-verse and YouTube was littered with people saying how Rory couldn’t make a putt.
If you were and outsider reading or watching the commentary, you’d think Rory choked.
But the truth is Wyndham Clark was the best player all week and he won the tournament. He set the bar and every player in the field was chasing him. He made all the clutch shots when other could not. He stretched his lead to 12 under par and created enough cushion to make a few mistakes at the end.
And he showed the inner mental strength to overcome two bogeys in a row on the 15th and 16th holes. On the 17 hole he made an incredible chip to with 6 inches to steady the ship. On the final hole he closed the door on any hopes that fans or the broadcasters had on their storybook ending.
Show some respect!
Six weeks ago, Wyndham won the Wells Fargo Championship against the best players in the world. So going into the US Open he knew internally that he could compete and beat all those same players again. And even before getting his first PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo, Clark had an incredible self-image.
Personally, even I was disrespectful to Wyndham. After each tournament I create a swing video where I time the winning players from that week to Golf BPM music. Well not every winner gets a video. If it’s what I consider a great player or “name” the video is created. But Clarks’ win at the Wells didn’t move the needle for me.
Yesterday when I was thinking about what to write about for Clark’s win, I started to get bothered about the disrespect he was getting for winning a major championship. A guy goes out and wins… he won… he beat everyone. They didn’t fail and he backed into the win. He beat everyone and was the best player out there.
In winning the US Open, Wyndham Clark has force everyone to change their image of him to match how he sees himself.
Going into the tournament he had three goals:
1. Enjoy himself on a beautiful golf course.
2. Be cocky.
3. Remind himself of the first two goals.
And goal number two was the difference. “Be Cocky”. Think about the self-image and confidence he created with those two words. How would you envision his self-talk during the tournament?
- I have already beaten all these guys out here
- Screw these fans, I’m having fun and winning this
Amateurs talk themselves out of large goals and expansive self-image. Pros are talking themselves into it. And I do not mean amateur golfers… I mean amateurs in life. In whatever profession you are in you need to develop a self-image that talks yourself into being world class.
Be cocky, walk taller, believe in your ability, and create a self-image of a champion.