Good time for Clarke to find form

Few golfers have blown more hot and cold than Darren Clarke this year. But if ever there was a time to get hot again this is it.

Clarke tees off tomorrow in the £4m (€5.9m) Players Championship in Florida - golf’s richest event – and then will turn his thoughts to the Masters at Augusta in two weeks’ time.

The Ulsterman’s appearances in the United States already this season are a curious mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Three events have earned him over a million dollars. The other three have not added a cent to his bank balance and included rounds of 78 at the Buick Invitational and 82 at the Nissan Open.

With a missed cut in the Dubai Desert Classic as well the slimmed-down Clarke - he has lost nearly three stones in the last few months with the help of former Great Britain rugby league player Steve Hampson – needs no reminding he has lacked consistency.

“My good is good, but my bad is bad,” he said. “I am working hard at putting it right.”

Third place finishes in the season-opening Mercedes Championship and then the Accenture world match play, plus his sixth spot in last week’s Bay Hill Invitational mean Clarke cannot be discounted wherever he goes now.

And that includes the Masters. Last year the 35-year-old led by three after an opening 66, but then wilted when bad weather forced him to play more than the usual 18 holes in a day.

He wound up a disappointing 28th and seven years after finishing runner-up in the Open at Troon is still searching for his first major title.

It was that experience at Augusta more than anything that led to his new fitness drive and not having the same bulk has forced some swing adjustments with coach Butch Harmon.

His record in the Players is another illustration of his unpredictability - three missed cuts in his first five starts, but then a sixth place last March after he finally, at the 17th attempt, broke the 70 barrier with a third round 67.

The Sawgrass course includes one of the most famous holes in golf – the short 17th with its near island green. It measures only 137 yards, but in yesterday’s practice round a strong, cool wind had players needing six-irons to get there.

“I think it’s a great hole for the people to watch,” commented Clarke. “Sometimes I would love to be watching it myself.

“I actually do. When I have an early tee-off time I go back and get in front of the TV. Whether I laugh depends on how I have done on the hole.”

His advice is simple. “Close your eyes and hit it quick.”