Sun goes down on Clarke’s ‘incredible’ 2011

YOU could draw a strong similarity in the pitching and rolling of the boat Darren Clarke was aboard last Monday and the rocking nature of the unique 17th hole island green at the Amata Spring Country Club at this week’s Thailand Golf Championship.

Each experience for the British Open champion somehow mirrored the time since Clarke was handed the Claret Jug.

Clarke went out about half-a-mile off the Dubai coast on Monday on a 30-metre fishing boat and while he endured a swell of some eight to 10 feet, he still managed to catch a few Queen fish before heading to Thailand for the final event on the 2011 Asian Tour schedule.

Joining Clarke in the event is Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, double Major winner John Daly and Japan heartthrob Ryo Ishikawa.

However the Asian Tour field also boasts a number of regular European Tour based players including Damien McGrane, Ollie Fisher, Gregory Bourdy, Stephen Dodd and the former and reigning Irish Open champions Soren Hansen and Simon Dyson.

The tournament is being staged in honour of the King of Thailand’s 84th birthday and also looking to raise funds for those affected by the devastating floods to hit the Thai capital.

Some 2.5m Baht (€61,500) was pledged on Tuesday night at a gala fund-raising dinner with a Clarke autographed Royal St George’s flag going for 300,000 Baht (€7,400) and then the Irishman matching that amount from his foundation towards relief efforts. But it is relief Clarke desperately seeks and that will come Sunday night, if of course the Portrush man makes the halfway cut.

“I am ready for a break as I haven’t played that well since The Open,” he said.

“I have done a lot of travelling this year and while I enjoy playing around the world, I just want to get home and relax and have a nice Christmas with Allison and the boys.

“But having won a Major championship the last thing you want is to play poorly, and I have been incredibly frustrated and no more than last week. I had 134 putts last week in Dubai. The harder I tried, the worse my results have become. So it’s also been incredibly disappointing. But that is golf.

“The game of golf is fickle and it just shows how easy it can be to go from the incredible high of winning a Major championship to what I’ve been through these last few months.

“I’ve had highs and lows throughout my career but none like this year because I have worked particularly hard. But when I get back to the house and see the Claret Jug sitting there, it will remind me what you can achieve in this game.”

Clarke admitted the schedule he set himself this year changed considerably after winning the British Open.

“I found out there is a lot more demands on your time as a Major champion, and while I’ve tried to accommodate people it’s hard to be talkative when you’re playing poorly. Winning The Open presented me with so many more opportunities but I’ve also become more frustrated than I’ve ever been. The main thing after this week is to get back home, relax and try not to think about golf.”

Clarke is no stranger to this week’s Amata Spring course having been a member of a past European Royal Trophy team but it will be the first occasion he will play with a scorecard in his pocket given the stroke-play format.

Amata Spring’s standout hole is easily the 130-metre par three, 17th where you hit to a floating island green, and a hole that can be lengthened or shortened by way of underwater pulleys.

After Clarke hit an 8-iron to some 15-feet left of the flag in yesterday’s pro-am, he beckoned caddy John Mulrooney to try his hand, just as the caddies do at the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass ahead of the Players Championship.

Clarke teased Mulrooney about his for a glove before the Irish caddy hit a 7-iron into a strong breeze that found a watery grave just feet short of the green.

After hitting off you walk 50-yards right and down to a floating pontoon where a boat, manned by two men dressed like sailors, convoys you to the green that was noticeably rocking.

“It’s very unique and I’ve never ever played a hole like it before,” said Clarke.

“The good thing is that I will have some advantage on the guys this week having played the course before.

“So I hope to play well but as I said before, I need a rest. I really do. I am making more mental errors than I have ever done before in my career. If I wasn’t hitting the ball that well I would be fine but I am hitting the ball well okay and making too many mental errors and that is a sign of tiredness. It has been a very long year.”

Then he revealed: “I’ve never watched any highlights of me winning at Royal St George’s, so I am going to do that over the short break I’ve got ahead of me. Hopefully, it can be an inspiration for me heading into 2012.”