Sextuplet bogey 11 all but sinks Clarke

FURIOUS would be a totally unsuitable adjective to describe Darren Clarke’s mindset after his staggering sextuplet bogey 11 at the infamous 17th hole.

It all but put paid to his hopes of claiming the €625,000 first prize in the Volvo Masters at Valderrama yesterday.

Clarke has yet to win a tournament this year but was perfectly set to rectify that situation when five birdies including a hat-trick from the 8th pushed him to three under par for the tournament and into the lead, albeit for only a couple of minutes.