Clarke shows class is permanent as he joins legends with Claret Jug double
Darren Clarke
The last time Darren Clarke raised a Claret Jug, he had such a big party he turned up feeling rather the worse for wear for his Monday morning press conference.
That was at Royal St George’s in Sandwich in 2011, when he put years of frustration in The Open behind him and won The Open at the 20th attempt at the age of 42.
On Sunday, Clarke held off a charging Pádraig Harrington, finishing with a long-range, two-putt birdie to win The Senior Open.
As a player with a huge interest in the history of the game, he was thrilled to win and even more excited to become only the fourth golfer to win both The Open Championship and The Senior Open, joining Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson.
“Yeah, awesome,” he said at the end of a long day that featured a near two-hour delay because of flooding to the course.
“You know, I've made no secret of the fact that I wanted to win this more than anything. From when I turned 50, this is the one you wanted to win, so I could set it beside the other one. Pretty good feeling right now.”
When Clarke won The Open, holding off two players who have since moved to LIV Golf - Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson — he finally landed the major his career had promised to deliver.
He’d had five top-10s in the big ones, including a tie for second at Royal Troon in 1997, when he shanked onto the beach early in the final round.
He was also tied third at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2001 and having finished third in The Senior Open at Sunningdale last year, he was determined to get his name on the trophy this time.
“Obviously very privileged,” he said. “Very privileged to get my name on The Open trophy and the Claret Jug, and now to get my name on this one as well and go beside some legends of the game. I feel very humbled and very honoured.”
He now has four wins on the PGA Tour Champions and after Sunday’s cheque for $432,080, he’s taken his career earnings as an over-50 to $3,307,794.
Dr Bob Rotella was key to Clarke’s Open win in 2011 and the mental game was again key for him around the King’s Course at Gleneagles.
“I was very good again this week,” he said. “When I won some of my biggest tournaments, The Open, WGCs, I have a sense of calmness. I don't know where it comes from because if I'd been able to grab a hold of it a few more times in my career, I probably would have won a few more times.
“But this week, I had that calmness again. I think it comes from being accepting, knowing that I hit some poor shots now and again. I'm not going to hole that many putts or whatever. And when you're accepting, it's easier just to amble along and accept the outcome. Plus I had Jamie Lane, my old caddie, back on the bag this week. So that made it a lot of fun, too.”
Unlike runner-up Harrington, who got to five-under early in the second round of The Open at St Andrews before his putting blew up and he missed the cut, Clarke was miles off the pace on the Old Course.
He shot rounds of 79 and 75 to miss the cut by 10 strokes and admitted he was a little lost with his game.
“Last week, I was very fortunate to spend a little bit of time with my old coach, Pete Cowen, as well on the range at St Andrews,” he explained. “Last week didn't quite go so well. He was trying to get me to do a couple of things and they didn't quite work. You know, he helped me win the main Open, as well as Ewan (Murray), and he's helped me win this one, too. He just got me with a more simple swing thought and I was able to get out of my own way and I was able to do it. To join that illustrious company is very special.”
Paul McGinley knows Clarke (and Harrington, who came home in six-under to set the target at nine-under) very well.
“Congrats Darren, who is still a really class player, particularly in ‘gnarly’ conditions,” McGinley tweeted after his 47th place finish in his first start this year. “Competitive tension between he and Padraig has been good for both throughout their careers.”
The Dubliner’s three-over par front nine on Sunday left him with too much to do and he’ll be back for more having claimed his maiden seniors win in last month's US Senior Open.
“That was an interesting day, just left it too late,” said Harrington, who has one win and four runner-up finishes in eight starts this season to lie second in the Charles Schwab Cup standings behind Steven Alker with $1,547,783. “Two lost balls in a week doesn't get it done.Nice to shoot a six-under back nine with 15 putts. Interesting how much easier it is to play when you’re chasing. Well done to @DarrenClarke60 who led from the front.”
Clarke promised to celebrate in style on Sunday night, even if the senior version of the Claret Jug is smaller than the original.
“This doesn't hold as much,” he said to gales of laughter. “But I'll have a few celebratory drinks tonight. As I said, to win the tournament I always wanted to win, The Open Championship, and then to win this one as a senior, this is the one I wanted to win more than anything. I feel very fortunate to have been able to have done it. Fulfilling your dreams is a very lucky thing, and I've been able to do it a few times in my career.”
