Clarke’s million reasons for hard labour sentence

DARREN CLARKE describes his weight as “highly confidential”. But there is no secret about what has made him a million dollars richer, again.

Clarke's fantastic four-stroke victory in the NEC World Championship in Akron a tournament boasting every single member of the world's top 50 was the result of the Ulsterman sentencing himself to hard labour.

"I tend to work pretty hard," said the Irishman. "People don't think that I do, looking at me, but I do.

"This was the best I've ever prepared for a tournament. I missed the cut in the US PGA, but I didn't play that badly and I couldn't wait to get practising again.

"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I prepared as well as I could. I played nine holes each day and they took me three hours each time.

"As opposed to just playing 18 and getting around as fast as I could, I chipped and putted around each green. Bernhard Langer does it all the time."

And how it paid off in all parts of his game. With an incredible driving distance average of 320 yards, Clarke was second only to US Tour money leader Davis Love, and while that was not a big surprise, finishing top of one of the putting categories was.

"That's a major achievement for me," said the 35-year-old.

In the first five months of this year he reckoned he did not once break 30 putts in a round, but last week he had 23 in the first round, 25 in the second, 29 in the third and 23 again in his closing 67.

Time with Southport-based putting guru Harold Swash helped bring about that improvement, while swing coach Butch Harmon and mental coach Bob Rotella also played a part.

"Butch brought an arm brace over to me at the Open. It stops my right arm collapsing at the top, which in turn makes my swing a little bit shorter and a little bit wider. It has been working very well."

Rotella sent Clarke a five-page letter last Christmas telling him he was not patient enough and should wait for things to happen on the course rather than force them.

"I've tended to get very annoyed in the past, but this year my attitude has been very, very good. Patience is not one of my virtues and it's been frustrating playing well and not having the results to show for it, but to win a tournament as important as this one makes me feel pretty good after all the work I've done.

"We have the Majors and then the Players Championship, and after those five I think the majority of players would pick the World Golf Championships."

The four events in the series one match play, two stroke play and the two-man World Cup were added to the golfing calendar in 1999, all offering a million-dollar winner's cheque. Since then Tiger Woods has taken seven of the 14 he has played.

That would have been eight but for Clarke beating him in California three years ago, and now the Ulsterman has become the first player other than Woods to win two world titles.

Coming in the week after Europe's barren run in the Majors stretched to 17, it was a much-needed boost.

"We do have a bunch of very talented young players coming through and hopefully this will show them that they can come over here and win. They're good enough to do it."

Clarke is to become a full member of the US Tour next year, but Europe will remain home. "I'm not going to get a permanent base over here," he said. "It will only mean playing two or three more events than I already do and that's no big deal."

He plays in Boston this week, and at Clandeboye in Belfast two weeks later, in a European Challenge Tour event which offers an opportunity to raise funds for his charity foundation.

Then it will be down to the next business trying to earn Ryder Cup points and to win the Order of Merit. This latest win lifted Clarke from ninth to second, behind Ernie Els.