I stood tough."
The victory marks a significant emotional recovery for Clark, who previously suffered an intense career regression and deep reputational damage following his missed cut at Oakmont.
"After what happened at Oakmont was obviously the lowest point," said Clark.
"People probably didn't see what happened after, but it was a really tough two, three days for me.
I was in a dark place, didn't really go outside much. It was a really negative, dark place."
During that difficult period a year ago, the golfer feared that his professional standing and world ranking were permanently slipping away from him.
"I felt a lot of my career, world ranking, reputation, everything just dwindling," said Clark. "That's a terrible feeling."
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To rebuild his form ahead of the tournament at Shinnecock, Clark implemented major adjustments to his physical swing and overhauled his mental approach during the offseason.
"I did a lot of work in the offseason on my golf swing, on the things I needed to do," said Clark.
"As this year went on, I started hitting it better and started seeing the results. Then I started gaining my confidence."
When dealing with the aggressive New York gallery on Sunday, Clark utilized specific psychological techniques to maintain focus and prevent the hostile environment from disrupting his game.
"Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive," said Clark.
The champion also relied heavily on his caddie, Dave Markle, using lighthearted humor to diffuse the tension during the tensest moments of the final round.
