Fuente: © Southern Africa Tour
http://www.sunshinetour.com/

SOUTHERN AFRICA TOUR: The Penguin hits big-time

/noticias.info/ By anyone standards, its modest in size and disarmingly unpretentious…Tim Clark’s dwelling atop a shelf of desert rock at the north end of Scottsdale in Arizona. It also bears a strong resemblance to its owner.

You don’t see many players around the 5-ft 7’ mark in contention on the final day of a Major.

But this unassuming 150-pound imp has shown the heart of a lion and his performance at The Masters proved testimony of his competitive toughness and his ability to deal with his physical shortcomings.

If you could find ‘Little Man’ Tim Clark listed anywhere on the stock market, now would be a good time to buy.

Finishing second at the Masters can do that for a player's future earning power.

Although Ernie Els and Retief Goosen are the better-known big guns from South Africa, Clark, in 115 career starts without a victory on the PGA Tour, has soared to 14th in world.

In the process, he has grinded out a reputation as one of the best tough-course players in the game.

It’s one thing to finish third in a major, like the 2003 PGA Championship. Or to grab a share of third at the US Open, as in 2004. Both Oak Hill (2003) and Pinehurst (2004) were ideal for Clark’s short-but-straight style of play, but to take sole second with a final round 69 at the Masters this year stopped one word shy of incredible.

It's not as if Clark has come out of nowhere. He has been banging on the door at major championships the past few years, and he hopes that it's just a matter of time before one opens.

"I've had a few good major championships and really do feel like I play my best golf in the majors," said Clark, a South African Open champion who played for three years at N.C. State before turning pro in 1998.

"I don't know what it is. I guess I get a little bit more geared up for them."

"I never thought my game was suited to Augusta no matter how well I played; the shots around the greens, the speed of the greens. I'd never gone there very confident. I'd always gone there a bit intimidated."

The Masters was supposed to have been a tournament for long hitters because of added yardage, but Clark overcame the distances with his outstanding iron play.

Clark suffers from a rare congenital condition that prevents him from rotating his arms so that his palms face upward and you will often spot him bumping 3-wood to even the toughest pins. It's a shot Clark has refined out of necessity and one that often gives him a surprising edge.

Despite being one of the shorter hitters in the Masters field, Clark stood tall as he played Sunday's final round with Tiger Woods. Although Woods consistently out-drove Clark by 30 to 40 yards, his 69 was one better than Woods' score.

But although he couldn’t catch Phil Mickelson, who shot seven-under to win his second Masters in the past three years, the tenacious 30-year old went down fighting.

At the 18th, Clark, trickled in a long bunker shot from above the hole for a birdie that ultimately gave him second place, his best finish at a major. He finished tied for third in last year's U.S. Open and was third at the 2003 PGA Championship.

On the subject of second-place finishes, he has a pretty solid view.

"Ernie and Goose certainly don't want to be remembered for those second places," Clark said. "Hopefully, my game gets to the level where I'll look back and won't want to remember the second places, either.

"I want to think about winning."

Clark's rise through professional golf isn't surprising.

In 1997 Clark won the 1997 Public Links Championship to book his first trip to the Masters. That gave him a taste of what he wanted to do.

Clark, the 1997 ACC player of the year, hasn't won on the PGA Tour, but he did win the Scottish Open on the European Tour last year and owns the titles to two South African Open Championships on the Sunshine Tour.

He had his best season in 2005 when he was 21st on the money list with more than $2 million in winnings on the back of a long fight through wrist surgery that kept him out of action for most of the 2001 season.

After soaking up the applause at the 18th on that final day at the 2005 Masters, he glanced at the scoreboard and could only shake his head.

"This is obviously one of the highlights," he said. "I'll look back and say, gee, I finished second there.

“Obviously, it would have been great to win.... I really felt I had a great chance to win, and obviously there will always be a little bit of disappointment not winning.

"Hopefully, I get another shot at it around here."

Probably. There’s is always the US Open next week. Big things, small things - sometimes its just the package that matters. notas_de_prensa_archivo