Why Golf is……..
So special. Darren Clarke, just sunk a 40 foot putt on the last hole of regulation play, to win the Asian Open by a shot, claiming his first European Tour victory in nearly five years. Two years ago, Clarke’s wife, Heather, lost her battle with cancer and Clarke has had to overcome a great many obstacles:
“With everything that has gone on these past few years, to spiral down the world rankings and keep working and people writing me off, it’s just nice to come back and play the way I know I can,” said Clarke.
Ordinarily, one of the most popular professionals, who has an appetite for fun, Clarke has been a somewhat tragic figure whose generous and playful nature has been overshadowed by the enormous sadness that he has endured. On Sunday, Clarke smiled again.
So this game proves yet again, to be a tonic, for Life’s, often hard, realities.
On Saturday, Beth Bader was teeing it up at the LPGA’s Stanford International Pro-Am, even though she had missed the 36 hole cut. Why? Because, she was partnered, in the Pro-Am part of the event with 23 year old, Aaron Theobald, and they were leading the team part of the tournament.
Theobald has been dealing with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) for the last 7 years. During that time, he has been through several rounds of chemotherapy and spinal taps. Theobald has also had two hip replacements.
Bader lost her Mother to cancer in 2004 and is extremely active in raising awareness and money for charity on the LPGA Tour. Bader was in tears after Theobald holed the winning putt on the last green. “Hearing Aaron’s story, how he’s battled what he’s battled at such a young age, it obviously touched me, and still touches me” Bader said.
Golf cannot replace the loss of Heather Clarke or Susan Bader (Bader’s Mother). But it can and does, find ways to reward those who struggle and battle, those who persevere. It is a parallel of Life in so many ways.
