Clarke proves that practice makes almost perfect

THE MISINFORMED who believe Darren Clarke is lazy, too well off to put in the practice and over-inclined to enjoy the good things of life to the detriment of his career, should think again after the manner in which he revived his Open Championship prospects at Muirfield yesterday.

Having signed for a decidedly moderate 72 on Thursday, Clarke admitted that he had “played average and putted even more average”.

Those of the opinion that he doesn’t care enough to rectify any problems that beset his game should have seen what happened next. After an hour or so on the range he and his caddy Billy Foster and coach Pete Cowen made their way to the practice putting green and stayed there from 6.10pm until just after nine o’clock. They were back out there again in the heavy rain at 6am.

These were demanding sessions but Clarke was determined to put things right. How well he succeeded is best demonstrated by yesterday’s fine round of 67 that shot him up the leaderboard to three under and reasonably well positioned going into the weekend.

“A few things clicked into place,” he said. “One or other of my hands was breaking down at impact, I just wasn’t solid enough. We worked on hitting putts one-handed, both left and right, and today I think I only hit one putt that wasn’t in the middle of the club. Whenever that’s the case my pace is a lot better. Believe me, with the pin positions we’ve got today, the pace has to be good.”

There were one or two negatives about Clarke’s round, most notably his failure to capitalise on being five under after 10 holes yesterday.

“There are always tough holes coming up at Muirfield. I was certainly hoping to finish better than I did but it’s a demanding course. It’s very easy to make bogeys so overall 67 is pretty good.

“The rain was a problem in the rough which was so severe and wet there was absolutely no chance of going through it.”

With Colin Montgomerie shooting 64 and Ernie Els burning up the course in the mid-afternoon, Clarke accepted he still has a long way to go if the title is to be his.

“I have to improve my swing a little. I’m not hitting the ball as solidly as I would like. There were one or two impure shots in there and you only get away with that for so long. If I improve my ball striking and keep my putting the way it is, hopefully I will have a chance.”

The omens for a good Clarke day came as early as the first hole where he drilled a five iron to six feet and rolled in the putt. He made a good save at the second and picked up birdie number two with a 15-footer for a two at the fourth. The high point came at the 560 yards fifth where a quality two iron of 244 yards pulled up 20 feet from the hole and he lowered the eagle putt.

A visit to the rough at the sixth undid a lot of that good work but at the long ninth he showed a nice touch of course management by hitting a two iron from the feet followed by a three wood that stopped on the apron of the green. Two putts later he was out in 32 and clearly in command of himself.

At the 10th he hit two beautiful shots to the 475-yarder and tapped in for birdie from three feet. Strangely, inspiration seemed to desert him at this point and from there it became something of a struggle. He made a good save at the 12th having driven in the hay but there was no respite when an overdrawn three wood tee shot to the 14th trickled into a deep bunker.

The prospects of a birdie at the long 17th diminished when Clarke’s drive was pushed into heavy rough but a good third shot gave him an opportunity which he missed. A treacherous pin position at the 18th meant he had to dredge up all his skill to get down in two putts which he did by negotiating his second effort from a good 10 feet.

Another indication that all the hard work had paid off.