All-time low for Ryder stars in Portugal

David Howell and Darren Clarke, Ryder Cup heroes a year ago, were unable today to avoid easily their worst season on the European Tour.

While Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik took over the lead at the Portugal Masters, adding a 66 to his opening 64 for a 14 under par total, stable-mates Howell and Clarke both crashed out.

Howell, third on last season’s Order of Merit, came to the Victoria Club in Vilamoura a lowly 136th on the money list and made it six missed cuts in his last seven starts.

After taking a triple-bogey eight at the 12th and a double bogey seven at the 17th, he finished with a 76 for three over par – six too many to survive.

Clarke, down in 129th place and without a single top-10 finish since his amazing performance against the Americans six weeks after wife Heather lost her battle with cancer, was on one under after a 73.

After playing in Morocco and Singapore the next two weeks – neither European Tour events – Clarke is planning a long winter long-off.

“Maybe a couple of months not looking at them,” said the 39-year-old, indicating his clubs. “I actually hit the ball lovely these two days, but I’m just not making anything or getting any momentum going.

“I’m not going to keep on moaning, though.”

Clarke’s previous lowest finish on the money list was 112th in his rookie season in 1991, but since then he has never been lower than last year’s 43rd.

Howell is also Morocco-bound – and relieved there is no cut to miss there – and does not qualify for the season-ending Volvo Masters in two weeks’ time.

“I’ll be ready for a break soon – I can’t see me miraculously turning it round at the moment,” he said.

“The ball is going where it wants and nothing short of hard work will put it right.”

Paul McGinley, another member of last year’s Ryder Cup side, also made an early exit, being another to run up an eight on the 12th as he matched Clarke’s one-under aggregate.

Vancsik won the Madeira Islands Open in March and was leading the Madrid Open on Sunday until he ran up a quintuple-bogey nine on the fifth hole of the final round.

The powerfully-built 30-year-old, who finished third, has had 16 birdies these first two days and said: “This course is good for my game. The driver is my best club and I can fly all the bunkers.”

With German Martin Kaymer having to be content with a 72 a day after a course record 61 had given him a three-stroke lead, England’s Ross Fisher and Steve Webster, Swede Martin Erlandsson and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros now share second place.

Quiros, the longest hitter on the circuit with an average of over 310 yards, is playing only his second event after five months out following wrist surgery.

“I was on the driving range when I felt a crack,” he said. “I played one hole, then hit one more shot and stopped because the pain was terrible.

“They had to open it up because a ligament was twisted and the doctors said it might take six or seven months. I didn’t do anything all summer except for watching golf on the television.

“I was 81 kilos before the injury, but now I am 88 kilos and I can’t hit full out yet – it’s a pity. This is a surprise, but I am not very confident.”

Lee Westwood birdied the last two holes to climb to 10 under, but Justin Rose’s hopes of the first or second place he needs to go above Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington at the top of the money list suffered a serious setback when a bogey six dropped him to five under, nine adrift.

As for 18-year-old Rory McIlroy, the Tour’s new sensation, he made it four cuts out of four as a professional, but after third and fourth place finishes in the last two weeks, he had only one shot to spare this time.