Monty is our trump card, says Clarke
Clarke was in mischievous mood when he led the succession of players to the media tent for interview at 7.30 yesterday morning. He heads into his fourth Ryder Cup as one of the senior citizens in the European set-up and at this early stage of the week, seems satisfied to fulfil that role.
He described the recently-divorced Colin Montgomerie as "Britain's most eligible bachelor" and when asked to give details of his weight in the 2002 match at The Belfry compared with what it is today, he simply allowed that it was "very heavy and not so heavy".
The popular perception this week is the team spirit in the European team is so superior to the Americans that it can make a match-winning difference.
Certainly, there is general agreement hat skipper Bernhard Langer has been meticulous in his attention to the
Minute details and also extremely generous in presenting each player with a Rolex Submariner watch with the Ryder Cup logo engraved on the back. This particular timepiece is valued at $4,800 in the States.
"Bernhard has kept a lot to himself but he's taking notes and has all his plans laid out," said Clarke.
"I don't know why we have been so successful in the Ryder Cup, except we are the perennial underdogs and maybe it's easy for us to pull together and get rid of that over the week, as we've done in three of the last four matches. On the US Tour, the guys travel independently, whereas in
Europe we travel together in groups. We dine with each other and play practice rounds every week Because of that, we know each other a little better than the American guys do."
If Clarke is one of the more experienced members of the European side, he pales in comparison with Montgomerie, who plays his seventh match with the magnificent record of having never lost a singles confrontation.
As Darren says, that record "speaks for itself. He's been there, he's done it, especially the last time at The Belfry when he raised his game and played unbelievable golf. After everything he's been through this year, he'll be anxious to take whatever he can out of the week. He has come through a lot of people having a go at him and that makes him a stronger and a better
person for that. He knows what to expect on Friday morning, as do a few of us, but his experience will prove invaluable to the team."
In spite of his crack about the toilet, Clarke is already being seen in a similar light to Montgomerie. How often have we wished that he would play with the same passion in ordinary tournaments as he exhibits when the Ryder Cup comes around every two years? He will be a lot more serious when advising the rookies as to what to expect when the real thing starts.
"The atmosphere on the Friday morning is always the same, you could cut it with a knife," he admits.
"But as soon as you get off that first tee, it's fine. It's nerve-wracking on that first tee for everybody. It's very difficult to enjoy it sometimes when you're under that much pressure."
The American interest in all things Irish is quite enormous and Darren was quizzed about the impact players from our country have made over the years in the Ryder Cup.
He absolutely glowed at the question and confessed it was "a point of pride".
"Look at guys like Paul McGinley, Philip Walton, Eamon Darcy, Christy O'Connor, it just keeps coming down to the Irish guys. It's a great little piece of history to be part of and to be proud of. If you asked Paul this week if he wants to be in the same position as he was two years ago, he'll say yes."
On the question of the 2006 captaincy, Clarke admitted that he was "of the initial opinion that there should be an Irish captain".
"Hopefully there will be somebody Irish at the top, if not captain then the assistant captain.
"But I believe we as a team in Europe need the best captain we can have to give us the best chance of
winning whoever that might be."
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