Clarke rolls back the years with shock Open win

Date Published: {J}

HE was regarded as yesterday’s man; a golfer past his prime and his best days long since behind him. Darren Clarke hadn’t contended at a Major for the best part of a decade and could have been backed at up to 200/1 to claim the British Open at Royal St. George’s last week. He was one of the real long shots for the tournament and was generally regarded as having a snowball in hell’s chance of outright victory.

The 42-year old Co. Tyrone native had been tumbling down the world rankings (111th) in recent seasons, but did provide a reminder of his former prowess last May with a surprise success in the modest Iberdrola Open in Mallorca. It was Clarke’s 20th career tournament success and appeared a fitting postscript to a golfer who also had six top 10 finishes in Major championships and an admirable Ryder Cup record.

Since that triumph in Mallorca, Clarke had drifted ominously back into the pack. He was tied 45th at the BMW; 63rd at the Welsh Open, missed the cut in the French equivalent and was tied 66th at the Scottish Open. It was hardly a portent of what to come at the famed Kent links in mid-July, but the Dungannon man bucked those low expectations by thriving in the windy and often brutal conditions.

An opening round of 68 had Clarke in the mix from the start and after another two under par round, he ended up sharing the half-way lead with American Louis Glover. The cynics were now waiting for him to fade away as only six previous golfers in their forties had landed a maiden Major, while they hadn’t forgotten either that Clarke had failed to close the deal when in a strong position in previous British Opens, at Troon in 1997, and Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2001.

But Clarke never lost his composure over the weekend and a third round 69 left him one stroke ahead of the long-hitting Dustin Johnson, who carried a three stroke into the final round of last year’s US Open only to crash to an 82 and plunge down the field. Unfortunately, there was more heartbreak for the American a couple of months later in the US PGA at Whistling Straits.

Johnson was coming down the last hole and only needed a par to carry the day, but he grounded his club in a scrubby patch of sand which he wasn’t aware was a designated bunker. The consequence of not knowing the local rule was a two-shot penalty and, with it, his chance of a first Major. It was little consolation to Johnson that the vast majority of observers didn’t think it was a bunker either.

The big concern heading into the final round at Royal St. George’s was could Clarke hold his nerve? He went on to answer those doubts emphatically with another unflappable performance, characterised by excellent driving, good shot selection and quality putting. A couple of lucky breaks, especially when his second shot hopped over an uninviting bunker on the approach to the ninth green didn’t do any harm either.

Clarke’s holing of a difficult par putt on the first sent him on his way. A routine birdie on the second followed and though he gave a shot back at the fourth, the Northern Ireland golfer remained unnerved. Of course, the British Open is synonymous with final day charges and though Phil Mickelson’s record in the event over the years has been poor, the popular American was starting to shoot the lights out on the front nine, highlighted by an eagle at the par five seventh.

When Mickelson birdied the tenth to go six under for the tournament (and his round), it appeared he was unstoppable, and now the man to beat. But he came unstuck at the very next hole, bogeying from less than two feet and that error really knocked the wind out of the triple Masters winners’ sails as he dropped three more shots on the back nine to end up sharing second with Johnson.

Mickelson had, at one stage, jumped into a share of the lead but when Clarke also holed out for a brilliant eagle at the seventh, he had regained control of the tournament. From there home, he was as steady as a rock and still finished three shots clear despite the mini-disappointment of dropping shots at the final two holes. Clarke had been in the firing line from the start and as a renowned ‘wind player’ keeps the errors to the minimum in finally landing the first Major of a once-great career which has now been resurrected in spectacular position.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.