Clarke gives his caddy the road

Darren Clarke has sacked his caddy John Mulrooney.

Clarke gave fellow Irishman Mulrooney his notice after missing the halfway cut in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Mulrooney teamed with Clarke for last May’s Iberdrola Open in Majorca after David Howell and Maarten Lafeber, who Mulrooney was to caddy for, both withdrew with injury.

Clarke came close to giving the Bray-born Mulrooney his marching orders at the Barclays Scottish Open a week before their British Open success at Royal St George’s.