Frustrated Clarke focuses on closing gap

A frustrated Darren Clarke believes he can still catch Ryder Cup team-mate Padraig Harrington after falling eight shots off the lead in the Madrid Masters.

The Ulsterman failed to spark on the greens and could only manage a level par 72 at La Moraleja in just his second competitive round following the death of his wife last month.

One of Ian Woosnam’s wildcard picks for next week’s Ryder Cup at the K Club, Clarke took 31 putts for the second day in a row as Harrington and Scotland’s Gary Orr fired sparkling rounds of 65 to lead on 12 under par.

“I am delighted with the way I am hitting the ball from tee to green,” said Clarke.

“I only missed four fairways and five greens again today. I had lots of chances but the putter is just not working.

“Padraig’s had a very good day and that’s great to see. He is eight shots ahead but the way I am hitting the ball from tee to green, if my putter works, there is no reason why I can’t go very low. There is definitely a score in me.”

Clarke dropped two shots in his first four holes but birdied the sixth and ninth to get back to four under par for the tournament.

A three-putt bogey at the par-five 16th left him frustrated with his putting and he punched the air at the par-three 17th where he tapped in a four-footer for birdie to get back to level par for the day.

Clarke added: “I just had chance after chance after chance and just kept missing and then I throw in a three-putt on 16 just to really get me going. It is nice to come back, but I forget how frustrating it is.

“I am just struggling with my pace and I can’t get the ball to the hole. The greens are just a little bit slow after practising so hard at home at Queenwood.”

Harrington and Orr finished the day one stroke clear of England’s Ian Poulter, who shot 66, with overnight leader Jean Francois Lucquin of France, Spain’s Ignacio Garrido and Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez a shot further back on 10 under.

After starting at the 10th, Harrington picked up five birdies to turn in 31 and then recovered from back-to-back bogeys at the third and fourth with a sensational birdie-birdie-eagle finish – holing a 43-foot putt from just off the green at the 412-yard ninth after hitting a 403-yard drive.

“The putts have certainly dropped for me the first two days,” said Harrington, who had just 23 putts.

“I’ve probably played okay too, maybe I am being a bit hard on myself. I feel like I can play better but then I would hole less putts.

“That’s the way I have been all year. I have been playing okay and holing some good putts which is always a better way to have it.”

The 34-year-old Irishman is bidding to win the last event before the Ryder Cup for the second successive time after taking the 2004 Linde German Masters the week before the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills.

He said: “It’s a coincidence. I do tend to play better towards the end of the year.

“A lot of my wins have come in September or October, so that’s not a coincidence. Doing it before the Ryder Cup is.”