Caddie carries can for Clarke cock-up

VETERAN caddie Pete Coleman held his hands up here last night and admitted it was his fault Darren Clarke fired his second shot to the 18th over the green and out of bounds in the first round of the Open Championship.

The hole cost Clarke a double bogey six but even so, he and Paul McGinley are very much in the thick of the battle at the end of day one.

Both men finished on two under par 69, three behind the joint leaders, Thomas Levet of France and the Englishman Paul Casey. Generally speaking, it was a decent day for the European contenders with the Scot Alistair Forsyth, in spite of finishing bogey, bogey in the second last group of the day, Gary Evans, Kenneth Ferrie and the Swede Carl Pettersson all on 68 along with Scotland’s British amateur champion Stuart Wilson. There were also further signs of a revival in fortunes for Colin Montgomerie who finished on 69.

The last five Troon Opens have been won by Americans but for now at least they are very much playing second fiddle. They have a quartet on 69 while Tiger Woods battled his way to a 70 despite again having to cope with a wayward driver. However, it was all a struggle for Master champion and US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson who took 73, a score with which he was distinctly unimpressed given the relatively benign conditions which luckily for the late starters remained much the same throughout the day.

“I didn’t hit that bad a shot, I just got the wind wrong and played the wrong club”, Clarke explained of his double bogey at the 18th. However, his 63 year-old caddie Pete Coleman was horrified at what happened and insisted: “It was my fault. He asked what club it was and I told him.”

The responsibility in these situations, of course, always rests with the player and in fairness Clarke wasn’t for pointing the finger at anyone than himself. He explained: “I had 191 yards to the flag. A five iron out of bounds was the first club, a six iron to fifteen short of the flag was the right one second time round. Of course it’s very disappointing to throw away shots like that but it’s still a good start. I’d probably have settled for 69 going out. I was hitting the ball well and could see the lines on the greens. In fact, this was probably the best I putted all year. So, no, I’m not fuming.”

After five quiet pars, Clarke sparked his round off with a hat-trick of birdies from the long 6th (ten feet), 7th (foot) and 8th, the Postage Stamp (9 iron to two feet) before knocking a nine iron to thirty feet from the rough at the 10th to get to four under. He did well to escape with a bogey at the 13th but got that shot back with a superb bunker shot to a few inches at the long 16th. However, the 18th spoiled an otherwise great day for Clarke who, however, has once again put himself in a position to contend for the Open at Royal Troon. And the most exciting aspect of the day from his perspective is that he putted so well and used the blade only 23 times, a stark contrast to most that has happened him all season.

What Royal Troon gives with one hand it seems to take away with the other. Ernie Els enjoyed the thrill and the boost of a hole in one at the 8th, where his caddie Ricky Roberts persuaded him to play wedge rather than nine iron and was proved dead right when the ball pitched 18 inches or so behind the stick and spun back into the cup. Four under playing the short 17th, he failed to get out of a bunker at the first attempt and wound up with a double bogey five. Still, 69 leaves the 2002 champion nicely placed after day one. His compatriot and US Open champion Retief Goosen not be unduly unhappy at finishing on the same mark.

Woods made a good par saving putt on the 18th and insisted he “played really well”.

“I’d like more wind. But the thing is, you never know. The forecasters here aren’t as accurate as they probably could be. Today was supposed to be blowing and it ended up probably being one of the best days you’ll ever see at a British Open. Hopefully it will blow tomorrow. This is a positive start.”

For now, though, the momentum rests with a couple of Europeans and that makes a pleasant change. Levet is coming off the thrill of shooting a final round 63 to capture the Scottish Open at the weekend, a result that got him into the Open. The Frenchman certainly believes his luck is in, not least because his flight from Glasgow to London on Sunday night last was delayed and he just made it in time. The rest and relaxation the following day helped to recharge the batteries.

“I went gardening with my wife and then we took care of the fish and the aquarium“, he said in that quirky way of his. “I went to see my son play tennis. We didn’t speak about golf. But we did buy the papers and looked at the pictures like kids.”

Levet’s co-leader Paul Casey may be only 26 but his experience of the Open dates back to 1993 - when he worked as a scoreboard operator at the Royal St Georges championship. He was a student at the time at Hampton School and recalls “we got paid for the privilege and slept in a tent“.

He returned to the Kent venue as a player 12 months ago only to shoot 83 on the first day.