Clarke benefits from stroke of luck

Everyone needs some luck now and again and Darren Clarke definitely had some this morning as he closed in on the overnight leaders at the Smurfit Kappa European Open.

Four behind Bradley Dredge and Niclas Fasth after his opening three-under-par 69 at the K Club’s Smurfit course near Dublin, Clarke was convinced that his second shot of the day had gone into the lake by the 10th green.

So convinced, in fact, that although he could not see where the ball landed he asked caddie Billy Foster for another and walked down the hole ready to drop it into play under penalty.

It was not necessary, though. The original had taken only a little hop on landing and had avoided the water by a matter of inches.

After that fortunate break Clarke did what all good golfers do. He took advantage of it by chipping to eight feet and made the birdie putt.

When an 18-footer found the target as well on the next and he then added a third birdie at the 468-yard 13th, the Ulsterman was up to six under and joint third place only one behind.

That was good news for Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam with Clarke only 28th in the standings after missing a number of events because of his wife Heather’s cancer fight.

Woosnam was competing in the match behind and in stark contrast he ran up a double-bogey seven on the 10th after catching the cross-bunker with his second shot.

The Welshman, already three over when he set off again, then fell to six over by tangling with heavy rough not just once, but twice on the 365-yard 11th.

Paired with Woosnam was Paul McGinley, who also managed only a 75 on the first day and has been struggling for form and confidence in recent weeks. He remained three over after three holes.

Ahead of them Colin Montgomerie pitched to within three feet of the flag on the 11th to climb to four under, but bogeyed two holes later.

After a record 29,000 crowd on the opening day there was nothing like the same number for the resumption. That was easily explained – they had to pay to get in today.

Despite the wind Clarke's fourth birdie of the morning was not long in coming. He picked up another shot on the 376-yard 15th.

It made him part of a four-way tie for the lead with Dredge, Fasth – both late starters – and Swede Peter Hanson, who reached seven under in spectacular fashion by holing his 108-yard approach to the fourth for an eagle two.

Seconds later Woosnam followed suit over at the 14th, sinking his 85-yard pitch for an eagle two. But having bogeyed the 13th it still made him only five over.

Another birdie chance was there for Clarke on the long 18th, but instead he took a bogey six and returned to six under.

After pushing his drive into sand his recovery drifted into rough so thick he could not attempt the carry over the water and then failed to get up and down.

Hanson, last year’s Spanish Open champion, followed his eagle two with a bogey to leave Dredge and Fasth back in front on their own.

Montgomerie was also in the rough for two at the 18th, but a much better lie allowed him to pitch to three feet and the birdie lifted him to five under.

McGinley, down from fourth to eighth in the Ryder Cup table this year, was heading for another missed cut after he bogeyed the 16th to be four over.

Meanwhile, Stephen Dodd, Dredge’s partner when Wales won the World Cup last November, moved into contention as well, birdies at the seventh and eighth leaving him six under.