Just what the doctor ordered

THE ability to laugh at himself has always been one of Darren Clarke’s more likeable traits.

It was in evidence again yesterday after his second round 68 in the Smurfit European Open at The K Club. He is now in the thick of the battle for his second title in three years and has no doubt that two people, coach Butch Harmon and “putting doctor” Harold Swash, can take much of the credit for this.

Clarke was recounting how he had tried to contact Harmon by telephone after his opening 67 on Thursday. The subject of his call, however, was in Salt Lake City, Utah, togged out in a skintight lycra suit and about to head off bobsleighing.

That certainly captured Darren’s attention and he saw great fun in a question wondering how he thought his own 17 stone frame would look in a similar outfit as he squeezed into a bobsleigh! “Me in a lycra suit and in a bobsleigh?”, he laughed. “I don’t think so.”

But it was that kind of occasion, Clarke on a high after two smashing rounds that put him very much in sight of a second European Open in three years and ideally poised to boost his morale in the build-up to the Open Championship.

The joking over, Darren was delighted to talk about how his golf has improved since his rather dispiriting performance in the US Open in Chicago. He recognised that desperate situations demanded desperate remedies so he called on Harold Swash to sort out his problems. Last night Darren confirmed: “I’ve now got a much more stable base. I have changed my grip and widened my stance. Also, my grip is weaker. I have definitely changed my whole way of playing the golf course. Now if I do miss a green there is not so much pressure on me to get up and down because I am stroking the ball better and hitting better quality putts. It’s nice to see a bit of work pay off and work so quickly.”

Having praised Swash for his contribution, Clarke turned to Harmon who, of course, is best-known for his work with Tiger Woods. Although the only fairway he missed yesterday was the 2nd., he admitted that his “swing still isn’t quite where I want it. I’ve talked to Butch and today I hit a lot of good ones but some I wasn’t very pleased with. I’m going out to do some more work but it’s good to see the short game come back into shape and hopefully I can get my long game back where it’s been.”

Frankly, it is difficult to see why Clarke is so concerned about his long game and especially his driving. He was knocking it miles yesterday, way past his playing partners Stephen Leaney and Bernhard Langer, and reducing holes like the 461 yards 9th (his 18th) to a drive and a wedge from 130 yards to ten feet for a concluding birdie. There was no sign of the wild hook that struck Mrs Tracey Leaney on the head on Thursday and happily that incident is nowhere as serious as it might have been.

Clarke began with a birdie at the 10th, his 1st, faltered for the second successive day at the 17th, but got back below regulation with a birdie at the 18th. His homeward run of 32 was beautifully compiled, gains coming at the 4th, 7th and 9th. Considering that he hasn’t won since the British Masters in June of last year and has gone out to 26th in the world, he could badly do with the right result this weekend.

“Butch and I have been working on getting my left shoulder behind the ball and keeping my right hand as far away from my head at the top of the back-swing as I can, it gets me a little wider”, Clarke explained. “If I know he’s watching a tournament, I usually call him once a day. Either he’ll call me or I’ll call him. Today, I hit the ball better but still not the way I wanted to. Yesterday I had 28 putts and today 30, so to shoot 68 around here with that many putts is pretty good. It feels as if they are going to go in. They are rolling at the hole.”

Clarke, now 34 and with grey peeping through that one-time distinctive beige thatch, is driven by the idea of winning a major championship and you sense that he is gaining in confidence where Royal St Georges in two weeks time is concerned.

“Troon in 1997 probably came too soon in my career”, he said recalling how he was tied for the lead with Jesper Parnevik after the first hole on the final day until he shanked a two iron out of bounds on the 2nd tee. “If you look at the majority of people who have won majors, they have tended to serve their apprenticeship. At Lytham in 2001, I felt I played well enough tee to green to win but on the greens I didn’t. That’s the best I’ve struck a ball in a major. I am trying to work to get back up there, I want to keep on improving. Even though I’ve been out here for 12 years, there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

“I’ve only had those two chances so far and if I have more chances and then don’t win one, then I’ll be very disappointed. But if I don’t start giving myself more chances, it would be foolish and presumptuous of me to feel I should have won one. I have to play better.”

And if he were to achieve that goal, then he might even squeeze into that lycra suit!