Clarke wants Ryder Cup role

Darren Clarke has asked Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam to consider him for a wild card for next month’s contest at the K Club.

Clarke has not played since the Open Championship at Hoylake in order to be with his seriously ill wife Heather, who subsequently passed away on August 13.

That meant the Ulsterman did not qualify automatically for the team but he could yet make a surprise appearance in Dublin from September 22-24.

A spokesman for Clarke’s management company ISN told PA Sport: “Darren would like to be considered for a wild card and would obviously like to play if selected, and he has told Ian Woosnam this.”

Clarke was only three strokes behind fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell after the first round at Hoylake but then slumped to a second-round 82 to miss the halfway cut.

He then revealed he had already taken the decision to take a total break from the game as Heather continued her long battle against breast cancer.

“I know that many people will be wondering about the Ryder Cup, but such things are not in my thoughts at the moment,” he said at the time.

“Now is the time to concentrate on matters much more important than golf.”

Clarke is not playing in this week's final qualifying event, the BMW International in Munich, and is not entered for next week's European Masters in Switzerland.

As he has also not qualified for the HSBC World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth the week before the Ryder Cup, the same week’s Madrid Masters will be his only chance for some competitive golf if selected.

The situation could yet be complicated further however if Jose Maria Olazabal, also not competing in Munich, dropped out of the automatic qualifying positions and needed a wild card.