Clarke pulls no punches as title defence off to stuttering start

The last time Darren Clarke had walked up the 18th fairway in a British Open Championship it was on the way to collecting the Claret Jug.

Twelve months on from his triumph at Royal St George’s, the warmth of the ovation he received at Royal Lytham and St Annes was of a similar nature to that he absorbed in 2011, only this time it was en route to an opening six over par 76.

This was not the start of a title defence Clarke would have wished for but he was able to find some humour in his predicament.

Asked yesterday if he had any flashbacks from that march to victory on the Kent coast, Clarke replied: “Yeah. Probably coming up the last thinking how the bleep did I manage to win this last year.”

Seven bogeys around Royal Lytham and just the one birdie yesterday would suggest he had a point and aside from the wisecrack, the Ulsterman pulled no punches.

“I’m basically disgusted with myself for shooting six over,” Clarke said. “That’s not what I was after. I don’t think you could publish my thoughts right now. I had a lovely tee shot to the first and made a poor putt. From there, it just got worse. I played poorly and I putted worse.

“It was disappointing, because at practice I hit it really, really well. But what can I do, I tried my best on every shot, but unfortunately it wasn’t there again today.”

Clarke has had more than his share of problems since winning the Claret Jug by three shots from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. The seemingly inevitable post-victory lull turned from weeks into months and he made just seven cuts in 15 starts this year.

Handing the trophy back last Monday on arrival at Royal Lytham offered hope of a revival as the burden of champion was lifted from Clarke’s broad shoulders but even the most inviting scoring conditions could not ease him back below par and that hurt.

“The Open Championship is the biggest and best tournament in the world. The course is so benign, if you hit good shots out there you’re going to get rewarded. I wasn’t able to make any putts at all to save anything, to save any momentum or gain any momentum. That’s it, bad day at the office.”

If anyone could feel Clarke’s pain it was his playing partner and old friend Ernie Els, who has been through some doldrums of his own since winning the last of his three major titles at The Open in 2002.

“I’ve been there,” Els said. “He had quite a few unlucky bounces today. It’s just a part of the game. It’s very difficult, you know. I’ve been there for over a year. It’s difficult to get yourself up from there. But he’s playing beautifully. And I think his attitude is great.”

Low confidence is not currently an issue with Els, who remains in the hunt after shooting an opening three-under 67. Els feels he is right in contention.

“You’ve got to be a crazy man not to,” he said. “My odds must have been really great, you know? I wish I could have put some money on myself. But I don’t think it’s allowed. I think I was like 100/1 a couple of months ago.”