Windham Clark suffered a back injury earlier this week but remains hopeful of competing in this week's Texas Children's Houston Open.
Clark said he was at the gym Monday morning when he “got stuck in a weird place” and “bending my lower back” during practice.
Clark said Tuesday that he flew a team of physical therapists to Houston because he was feeling “pretty bad.” At first, he could only chip and putt, but by Wednesday he was able to hit the ball and advance to the nine-hole pro-am tournament.
Complete the tee times and pairings of Scottie Scheffler, Sahit Segala and more for the first 36 holes at Memorial Park.
“I've improved a lot in just a short period of time,” he told reporters. “I think we're ready for tomorrow.”
The timing was unfortunate for Clark, who had risen to a career-high fourth place in the Official World Golf Rankings following consecutive runner-up finishes to Scotty Scheffler. His most recent start with The Players ended on a sour note, when a 20-foot shot that clinched a playoff berth caught the rim of the cup and sent the horseshoe flying out.
Clark said he was trying to avoid watching reruns of the mistake.
“One day I looked at it and thought to myself, I still can't believe I didn't get in.,” he said. “I don't want to focus on that as a negative thing. I played great that week. I just held on tight at the end and hit some really good shots. [Nos.] Numbers 16, 17, and 18. Unfortunately, I couldn't make a putt on the 16th and 18th holes. Overall it was a great finish. Traditionally, I have never played great on the golf course. To be honest, it was a great success that I came one step short. ”
Clark suffered a muscle strain earlier this week and briefly wondered if he would have to miss his final conditioning start before the Masters, but said he has been “heading in the right direction” over the past 48 hours.
“I’m going to give it my all tomorrow and hopefully I can play and compete,” he said. “If not, we must prepare for the tournament that will take place after this.”