Clarke: I know I can win it again

Darren Clarke admits he fell into the classic British Open championship winner’s trap after he fulfilled a lifetime dream and lifted the Claret Jug at Royal St George’s last year.

It’s a trap Pádraig Harrington knows all too well having once watched a former winner toss a four-iron in disgust and cry: “That’s not the shot of an Open champion.”

Clarke is highly self-critical at the best of times but he’s recognised the error of his ways now and is looking at himself in a different light as he approaches his title defence at Royal Lytham & St Annes next week.