Schwartzel wins by 11 - Clarke 22nd in Thailand
Charl Schwartzel was uncatchable in Thailand. Picture via AsianTour.comDarren Clarke has just one more week to improve on his season’s best of 20th in a strokeplay event after a closing 72 left him joint 22nd in the Thailand Golf Championship.
As South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel won for the first time since the 2010 Masters some 20 months ago, romping to a commanding 11-shot victory at Amata Spring Country Club, Clarke had 32 putts for the second day running as he ended up 19 shots behind the winner on five under. Scoreboard
The 44-year old, who was 20th in the limited field Volvo Golf Champions in January, hasn’t had a top 10-finish anywhere since he lifted the 2011 Open Championship.
And while he could have broken that sequence with a final round 67 in Thailand, he had to settle for a level par effort featuring three birdies and three bogeys.
Clarke will make his final appearance of the season in next week’s Australian PGA Championship at Coolum Golf & Spa in Queensland
Schwartzel, 28, completed an impressive wire-to-wire victory when he shot a seven under par 65 to finish 11 shots ahead of Masters champion Bubba Watson (65) and Thai youngster Thitiphun Chuayprakong on 25 under with Sergio Garcia two shots back in fourth after a 70.
“It’s been a great week,” said Schwartzel. “We had such a good time last year and obviously I came in second. I do know how the guys feel like as I had the same feeling last year when I lost to Lee [Westwood] by quite a margin [seven]. I played some solid golf. I’m very happy.”
As for ending a 20-month tournament drought that dates to the 2010 Masters, Schwartzel told AsianTour.com: “It’s always hard when you’ve won such a big tournament.
“You go on a high and you feel that you can win all the ones that you play in. I came close a few times. Winning is not as easy as everyone makes it out to be.
“You know, it’s been quite hard work and it’s been a difficult year especially in the middle [when he was injured]. It’s nice to put things in place and get the win that I’ve been looking for a while.”