Champion produces another sparkling round

WHEN you have just scooped £900,000 (€1.03m) for winning the British Open you can afford to begenerous.

Darren Clarke finally got his hands on the famous Claret Jug on Sunday at his 20th attempt.

But when it came to sharing his winnings, the golfer’s first thought was to call one of his regular haunts back home in Antrim.

The 42-year-old has been known to savour a pint or two in the surroundings of the Bayview Hotel in Portballintrae on the Antrim coast.

Its owner, Trevor Kane, confirmed that Clarke rang to pay for a round of drinks for those fans who watched his triumph on television, shortly after collecting the British Open trophy.

“We had a big contingent ofDarren’s fans in the hotel onSunday,” he said. “His sister Andrea and his brother-in-law also came round later with Darren’s two boys and their cousins. Darren put a call through to Andrea to set up a round of drinks for everyone at the bar, it was quite a celebration. Some people got squirted withchampagne.”

Trevor said that Clarke’s British Open victory had been “emotional” for everyone assembled at the hotel.

He said he felt that the player’s recent decision to return tothe North had been instrumental in his success.

“Darren would come into the bar and have a pint or two — he would give me a bit of banter,” he added.

“He has brought the boys home and they are settled now.

“He had to dig deep at theweekend and to win the Open is brilliant.”

Sunday was not the first time this year Clarke has celebrated a title win by buying a round.

In May, the Ryder Cup star bought an entire plane full of passengers a drink to mark his Iberdrola Open success in Majorca.