Clarke looks for positive after missing the Target

GIVEN the manner in which he failed to capitalise on a winning position in the Target World Challenge in California on Sunday, one might expect Darren Clarke to be beating himself up.

However, Darren has more pressing things on his mind and was even able to conceal his embarrassment at two appalling putts on the 17th and 18th with a rueful smile. Sure, he left himself open to criticism but this time he also looked for positives. "I put myself in position to win again. I have gone first, second, second in my last three tournaments. I hung in there and didn't play badly. I'm disappointed to finish the way I did; two bogeys out of three was not very good. The one on 18 didn't make any difference, but the bogey on 16 was a bit of a disappointment."

Clarke has a lot of Ryder Cup ground to make up but insists he will go into 2006 with his confidence a lot higher than it was earlier this year. "I had two days where it went really well and two days where I didn't swing it quite so well. To finish second was not bad. I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I would like to have won but it's not that important and Tiger has given me a nice enough Christmas present."

The present amounted to $800,000, although it will be difficult to shake off the feeling that the first prize of $1.3m should have been his; finishing two over par for the final ten holes, a stretch that included three reachable par fives, was pretty poor.

Clarke's plan for the early months of 2006 is to play Qatar and Dubai on the European Tour towards the end of January before making a sustained attack on the US circuit in the Nissan Open at Riviera; the WGC World Match Play at La Costa and the Ford Championship at Doral. He accepts, though, that because of his wife's illness his schedule could be "all over the place".

Padraig Harrington has drifted to 17th in the world rankings having been sixth not long ago and didn't do any better than Clarke when the crunch came on Sunday. Like Clarke, he was fighting a bit of a hook and in the end it proved his undoing.

Afterwards, a question referring to next September's Ryder Cup match sent Padraig into reflective mood. For the first time, he accepted that he has "a lot of work to do" to make the European team.

"It would also be premature to speculate on whether Colin Montgomerie might again be a fourball/foursomes partner. Monty's already in, I'm the one who has to try and make it. You never know how these things go. Monty is very experienced, I have some experience, so maybe it might be more appropriate to split us up.

"Who knows what's going to happen? Who knows what the captain is going to be thinking? Monty is already qualified, and I have to do it, so maybe I won't even be there, you never know."

If you have any doubts that the Americans aren't up for The K Club, they should be dispelled by how much reference was made to the match throughout the Target Challenge. The American media pestered Harrington about the current American rankings and he told them he hadn't taken any notice, didn't know what they were.

But they persisted: "Have you found it curious that Tiger has gone through so many partners in the Ryder Cups that you've played and did you take note at all of his successful pairing with Jim Furyk at the President's Cup, who is sure to be another at The K Club?"

"I saw The Presidents Cup and heard the commentators picking the team for Tom Lehman", smiled Harrington. "Anybody would like to be partnered with Jim Furyk in fourball or foursomes. And I don't think anybody would be turning Tiger Woods down as their partner, either, so it seems like an ideal accommodation."

Pressed as to whether we'd ever see Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson together again, Harrington pointed out: "You've got to remember Phil and David Toms played so well at the Belfry, they were a great partnership there. And yet they're not talking about that now. Phil had a new partner, Chris DiMarco, at the Presidents Cup. We can all pick the team here. When it comes around, who knows what the week will bring. Only eight guys play those first rounds of matches so you have to pick the guys who are playing well of the 12 on your team.

"It's up to the captain whether he wants to go with an established partnership with one of them slightly off or bring in a rookie playing great."