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Clark Helps Lions
Roar To Title
ST. LEO UNIVERSITY
G
riffin Clark, a VSGA member at the Country Club
of Petersburg, was not
the No. 1 player in St. Leo
University’s lineup when
the Lions faced Chico
State in the NCAA Division II championship match in Denver in May. No matter.
His score was just as important as the one
posted by Hugo Bernard, who won the DII
individual stroke-play championship.
In fact, St. Leo’s national championship
hopes ultimately rested on Clark, a redshirt sophomore who was the No. 4 player
in the Lions’ five-man lineup. He defeated
Kelley Sullivan to clinch the winning point
in the Lions’ 3-2 win.
vsga.org
“Especially when you get to that stage
at the end of the season, whoever has the
best bottom of the lineup is usually the
best team,” Clark said. “When you get into
match play, every match counts. You’ve got
to get all of the points you can.”
Clark, a graduate of Thomas Dale High
School in Richmond who spent time at John
Tyler Community College before transferring to St. Leo in Florida, did well just to
crack the Lions’ lineup this year. With 12
players on the roster, competition for playing
time was fierce. He played 18 rounds in the
spring, finishing with a 75.27 stroke average.
He shot 1 under in his title-match round.
“When I transferred in my first semester,
I didn’t play in one tournament,” Clark said.
“That kind of made me anxious to get back
and work hard and get in the lineup. It is
pretty hard. But it keeps you on your toes
and it keeps your game sharp knowing you
have to work for your spot every week.”
Clark, who was set to participate in the
103rd VSGA Amateur Championship earlier
this summer, said his biggest improvement
this year came between the ears.
“If this makes sense, it was learning how
to play with more focus and understand
that every shot matters and understanding the importance of grinding over every
shot,” Clark said. “Before, I would lose
focus easily and make careless mistakes.
But I’ve worked hard on just the mental
side of my game.”
J U LY /A U G U ST 2 0 16 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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