Wow! What an Open Championship. Congratulations to Darren Clarke, Open Champion.
Darren Clarke played a near flawless weekend of links golf to show that there's no reason why players in their forties (who have been written off as past it) cannot tame the links where shot making, imagination and a cool head are more important than being able to nail the ball 350+ yards off the tee.
This fact was also backed up by the likes of Thomas Bjorn and Phil Mickleson (both 40+) featuring in the reckoning over the weekend.
But what of Darren Clarke, a former world no. 2, World Matchplay Champion and Ryder Cup stalwart for 10 years, his career had somewhat floundered since losing his wife to cancer in 2006. His determination and love of the game allowed him to find his form once again and he won Iberola Open in Mallorca earlier this year, which surely gave him the belief that he could win larger events again.
He played a great back 9 on the Sunday in Mallorca to unseat Englishman Chris Woods (who had never won a tournament) and put just enough pressure on the young man to come through the field. A great show of how to keep a cool head under pressure, especially when it was a few years since his last win.
Darren played in the final group for Saturday and Sunday in Sandwich and a cool head was the greatest feature of his game as he plotted his way around the links chatting to his playing partners as if he was playing a practice round with his mate.
It really is the feat of a champion to play shots under intense pressure as if it's the same as any other shot and Darren looked in complete control of everything he surveyed, as wind and rain were ruining scores of players much higher than him in the rankings.
In truth he wasn't put under all that much pressure on Sunday. He holed some great putts in the 1st 3 holes (including a great par at the 1st) to move a further shot under par and take the pressure off himself. Indeed, when his birdie put rolled in at the 2nd I was quite sure Darren wasn't going to let this one slip by.
However a Mickleson masterclass was underway ahead of him and a Lefty Eagle at the 7th put him in a share of Clarke's lead. However, 20 minutes later Darren eagled the same hole to restore his lead and when a short par putt for Mickleson was missed on 11, no one would ever get within 3 shots of the Ulsterman.
After Mickleson's missed put at 11, his round faltered and when Dustin Johnson found the out of bounds on the right at 14 Darren could all but sip his Guinness from the Claret Jug. A truly masterful display of Links Golf, Clarke could still afford bogeys at 17 and 18 to sign for a round of level pay 70 and the 140th Open Championship.
It really was a great occassion. Darren's last big performance at the top level had come at the K Club in Ireland in the 2006 Ryder Cup. Just a few weeks after his wife, Heather's death, Darren agreed with European captain Ian Woosman that he would be in a suitable state of mind and form to accept his Captains pick to play in the team.
Darren put in the performance of his life to remain undefeated over the week and as putts were rolling in all over the course, and Europe romping to victory, his win over Zach Johnson brought anyone without a heart of stone to tears. Darren's grief finally spilled over on the 16th green. Clearly he had been so focussed on his golf in the days and weeks following Heather's death, no doubt his way of dealing with things in the immediate aftermath.
Less than 5 years later and Darren has rebuilt his life and bettered the Ryder Cup glory with his Open Championship victory.
Clarke now wants to win more majors, and is guaranteed entry to all of them for the next 5 years, and if he gets a chance he surely has as cool a head as anyone in the game. However I'm sure if there are no more to follow, his week on the links of the Kent coast will be more than enough for a man, who at 42, has fully fulfilled his potential as winner of the Gold Medal and Champion Golfer for 2011.
