Clarke powers back into contention

Darren Clarke gave his home fans plenty to cheer about at Mount Juliet today as he suddenly ignited his hopes of completing a full set of World Golf Championship victories.

From the virtual obscurity of joint 36th place at halfway in the €5.5m American Express championship, Clarke grabbed eight birdies to climb into a share of second spot – but then bogeyed the last.

The Ulsterman was round in 65 and set the clubhouse target of eight under par, although the overnight leaders were only just setting off at that point.

Ernie Els led overnight by two at 11 under, but three opening pars saw him being caught by Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, who birdied the first two and then eagled the 558-yard fifth.

Els’ fellow South African Retief Goosen was only one behind and then came Dubliner Padraig Harrington after three birdies in his first six and also Open champion Todd Hamilton.

A 20-footer on the short third was the catalyst for Clarke. He then pitched to four feet at the long fifth and holed putts from 15 and nearly 50 feet at the seventh and ninth.

His putter was red hot and in between converting 35 and 30 feet chances at the 11th and 13th he rolled in an eight-footer.

On the difficult 480-yard par four 18th, however, he pushed his drive a fraction, could not quite make the green and failed to get up and down.

Clarke is the only European ever to take a World Championship crown – and he has two of them. In 2000 he beat Tiger Woods in the final of the World Match Play in California and last year in Ohio he ran away with the NEC Invitational.

That was his last tournament success, but he had three wins and a half in the singles against Davis Love in the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills.

Els had shown what was possible with an eight-under-par second round 64 which was the lowest score of the day by three.

Woods, in danger of losing the world number two spot to Els a month after his five-year reign at the top was ended by Vijay Singh, resumed five behind and with his injured back much improved.

But Woods bogeyed the 429-yard second, driving badly and being unable to find the green, and was still one over for the day after six holes. He had slipped to 17th place.

Scotland’s Scott Drummond was enjoying himself in only his second World Championship event.

Drummond, 435th in the world when he captured the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth in May, birdied the first two and then the long fifth to go to seven under.

European interest was strengthened further by an equally fast start from Sergio Garcia – a hat-trick of birdies from the third to take him to eight under, but he then bogeyed the seventh.