"At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of the parents." Jane D. Hull

 

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The 123rd US Open is in the books, with the most unlikely of winners.  A  29 year old man named Wyndham Clark won the tournament, 1 stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy and a few strokes better that Ricky Fowler and some of the other biggest names in golf. He has been on the tour for a very short time and had a win at The Wells Fargo Open in May. Here is a link to a little info about him  https://www.pgatour.com/player/51766/wyndham-clark

I watched this young man play with great concentration, and he was able to extricate himself from some perilous situations during the final round.  He appeared to be cool and calm and quite capable of dealing with the stress, until the moment after he sunk his second putt on hole 18 to win the US Open.  It was then that his body was racked with sobs and what seemed to be gratitude and joy.  When asked about the win, he said he owed everything to his late mother, who died from breast cancer at age 55 when he was just 19.  She was the one who introduced him to golf at the age of 3, and she was the person in his corner who carted him to tournaments and lessons.  Even though his win came on Father's Day, it was his mother he mentioned.  

Wyndham's mention of his mother made me think about the great influence parents have on their children.  Although I am 70, I still use the lessons taught to me by a loving mother and father, and my morals, ethics, and viewpoints were shaped by them from the beginning.  As I learned to think for myself, I somethimed strayed from those early lessons, but when I found myself in leadership roles through the years and I was unsure of what to do, I always went back to the early lessons.  My parents gave my brothers and me such solid foundations upon which we built our lives, and for that, I am grateful.  For the 37 years I taught high school, the students who had caring and involved parents consistently achieved more than those students who seemed to be thown by the wayside by their uninterested parents.  I have to agree with the quote at the top of this blog -  "At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of the parents." Jane D. Hull 

Father's Day and Mother's Day come but once a year, but the lessons parents offered are lived every day.  I am sure Wyndham Clark's mother was watching over him as he won his first major tournament, and it was a beautiful tribute to his love for her that he credited her with the win.  I expect great things of young Wyndham Clark.  Becasue of great parenting, he knows who he is. 

Here is a link to a story about Wyndham's mention of his mother.

https://www.si.com/golf/news/wyndham-clark-us-open-emotional-interview-los-angeles-country-club-2023 

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