FINDING your putting touch and a dollop of confidence is vital for anyone with major ambitions.

DARREN CLARKE will tee off for the first time as a Major champion today, fully aware that the rest of his professional career — and the way he approaches it — is in need of a rethink.

Darren Clarke gave his answer today to those who have criticised his Open victory celebrations - get a life.

Padraig Harrington goes in search of a second Irish Open title in Killarney tomorrow, hoping that his work with one of golf’s best-known gurus can pay off for him just as it did for Darren Clarke.

A TEXT from Tiger Woods, a boot up the backside from Rory McIlroy and some sage counselling from Dr Bob Rotella.

IT WAS four years ago that Darren Clarke read in an English broadsheet newspaper that he was continuing an “inexorable descent towards irrelevance”.

NO MATTER how many times you have competed in events of the size and status of the British Open Championship, one has to be continually impressed by the scale of the infrastructure supporting the event and the attention to detail, not least in the media centre.

SPORTS psychologist Bob Rotella may have straightened Darren Clarke’s head out this week at Royal St George’s, but he is going to have his hands full with Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington for the next while following a couple of brain-mangling rounds at the British Open yesterday.

A RENEWAL of acquaintances with Dr Bob Rotella and a return to home comforts were the ingredients behind Darren Clarke’s best British Open round in six years.

PRIVATE jets carrying Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy passed over the skies of the Middle East yesterday.

HAVING taken a few weeks off to recharge the batteries, recover from a few nagging aches and get in a few hours of practice, Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy return to action in this week’s Shell Houston Open.

TOM WATSON can’t understand what he’s trying to do. Likewise, Peter Alliss.

IF Tiger Woods gets his putter working and manages to keep his golf ball in play for a reasonable amount of the time over the next four days, there can be no doubt as to who will be holding the claret jug on Sunday evening.

WHILE deriving a degree of satisfaction from winning the Irish Professional Championship for the sixth time and the third year in a row, at the European Club on Saturday, Pádraig Harrington admitted that he’s “still clutching at straws” with regard to getting his game into shape for a successful defence of the Open Championship at Turnberry this week.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON carries a four stroke lead into today’s final round of the Ladbrokes.com Irish Professional Championship at the European Club but to listen him talk after yesterday’s two over par round of 73, he is still some distance from finding the form that will enable him to complete a hat-trick of Open Championship victories at Turnberry next week.

Not since Australian Peter Thomson in 1956 has any player completed a hat-trick of wins in the Open Championship. But Pádraig Harrington hasn’t dismissed the possibility of joining golf’s immortals next week. Charlie Mulqueen reports.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON last night admitted that if “I was a footballer, I’d be on the bench right now but because I’m my own boss, I can live my life anyway I want”.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON isn’t the only Irishman these days struggling to put some decent scores together.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON insists his problems are between his ears and not in his swing as he battles to regain his shaken confidence ahead of this week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

Nick Dougherty has turned to three-time champion Nick Faldo for an expert opinion in the countdown to his Masters debut at Augusta National this week.

Padraig Harrington has warned close friend Paul McGinley to beware his “honeymoon period” with new coach Bob Rotella.

A DAY that began with high hopes for himself and his large band of supporters ended in anti-climax and no small amount of disappointment for Padraig Harrington.

Most golfers ranked outside the world’s top 200 would get some funny looks if they started talking about winning next week’s British Open championship.

PÁDRAIG Harrington is set to make Masters history here today. He tied with David Toms for the Par 3 title in 2003 and won it outright after a play-off against Eduardo Romero last year.

Scotland’s Paul Lawrie has taken the advice of Padraig Harrington and seen a top sports psychologist in a bid to return to form.

Padraig Harrington has given Europe the perfect boost as they fly to the Ryder Cup this afternoon.

DARREN CLARKE describes his weight as “highly confidential”. But there is no secret about what has made him a million dollars richer, again.

Darren Clarke describes his weight as “highly confidential.” But there is no secret to what has made him a million dollars richer again.

Darren Clarke was today hoping to recapture the form which saw him leading the US Masters after the delayed opening round in Augusta.

Augusta

TIME was when a caddie’s job was to carry the clubs and keep his mouth shut. Those days are long ago, especially where the professional game is concerned, and there has been as much talk about certain European Tour caddies in recent weeks as there has been about their employers.

DARREN CLARKE has embarked on a series of drastic changes in a bid to start climbing the world rankings and challenging for majors again.