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| Tim Clarke © Gallo Images |
Described as the pit bull terrier on the Internationals team by captain Greg Norman, South African Tim Clark sank his teeth into his Presidents Cup opponent in aggressive style on Sunday.
Clark, the smallest player on either side at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco, reeled off eight birdies in an astonishing display to beat American Zach Johnson 4&3 in the last-day singles.
Pouring putts into the cup almost at will, Clark raced five up by the turn before fending off a rally by Johnson featuring five birdies in six holes from the 10th.
"He made a great come back on the back nine and lucky for me I was making birdies to tie a lot of those holes," Clark told reporters after ending the week with a 2-2-1 record.
"It was a great match for me and I came out early with a lot of birdies. For the first time all week, the putts started to go in. The first few days, a lot lipped out but today they all seemed to go in.
"Zach played great on the back and he showed what sort of fight he has. If I had not kept on the pedal, I would have been in trouble."
Clark's performance, however, was in a losing cause as the Internationals were beaten by 19-½ points to 14-½.
"Unfortunately the Cup didn't go our way," the 33-year-old South African said. "For me, it's always about being a part of the team and being with the guys the whole week.
SPECIAL WEEK
"It's always a special week in this format and it's great to play the Americans and be up against the best players in the world. It showed this week how strong they are."
Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, felt flat on his back after Clark sealed victory with yet another lengthy birdie putt on the 15th green.
"It was really impressive," the American said of Clark's performance. "He just out-played me early on especially. I'm five under and I don't even get to see the last three holes."
Australian Norman compared Clark with 1995 US Open champion Corey Pavin, another medium-length hitter known for his never-say-die attitude.
"He is my pit bull and there's no gutsier player than Tim Clark," Norman said. "He reminds me of a modern-day version of a Corey Pavin.
"Corey was always such a tenacious player and I never thought there was a shot he couldn't hit, even though he was probably one of the shortest guys in the field.
"Timmy is not short by any means, but he's just a gutsy guy. He wants the bit between his teeth."
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