Clarke basks in Open triumph
Source: Agencies |
July 19, 2011, Tuesday
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DARREN Clarke's bleary, bloodshot eyes told it all.
The party began shortly after he walked off the 18th green at Royal St George's in Sandwich, England, with the claret jug in hand. Beer and red wine flowed through the night, the revelry not letting up until Clarke returned yesterday morning for a few more interviews and some photos at the spot where he tapped in the final putt to win the British Open.
"I have not been to bed yet," Clarke said. "I probably won't get any sleep until tomorrow at some stage. You have to enjoy it while you can. It's been a very good night."
Clarke sure earned it.
No one had ever gone more than 15 British Opens before winning. Clarke did it on his 20th try, at the ripe age of 42, making him the oldest first-time major winner since Roberto de Vicenzo in 1967.
But that only tells part of the story. Clarke lost his wife Heather to cancer five years ago, leaving him to raise two young boys on his own.
Not surprisingly, his focus on the course wavered, which sent him plummeting out of the top 100 in the world. It had been a decade since he was a serious contender in a major; heck, he didn't even qualify for the three majors that preceded the Open.
"I definitely appreciate an awful lot more what I've achieved," Clarke said. "Ten years ago, I did take an awful lot of things for granted."
His parents and new love, fiancee Alison Campbell, were at Royal St George's to cheer him on. Clarke's two boys stayed home in Northern Ireland, but he phoned them shortly after he finished off his three-stroke victory over Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
Clarke's refreshing absence of airs and graces has made him a favorite with British golf fans down the years but he arrived at Sandwich firmly in the shadow of compatriots Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, winners of the last two US Opens.
A natural player in windy, links conditions, Clarke eclipsed both men with rounds of 68, 68, 69 and 70 in some of the roughest weather seen at a British Open for many years.
The party began shortly after he walked off the 18th green at Royal St George's in Sandwich, England, with the claret jug in hand. Beer and red wine flowed through the night, the revelry not letting up until Clarke returned yesterday morning for a few more interviews and some photos at the spot where he tapped in the final putt to win the British Open.
"I have not been to bed yet," Clarke said. "I probably won't get any sleep until tomorrow at some stage. You have to enjoy it while you can. It's been a very good night."
Clarke sure earned it.
No one had ever gone more than 15 British Opens before winning. Clarke did it on his 20th try, at the ripe age of 42, making him the oldest first-time major winner since Roberto de Vicenzo in 1967.
But that only tells part of the story. Clarke lost his wife Heather to cancer five years ago, leaving him to raise two young boys on his own.
Not surprisingly, his focus on the course wavered, which sent him plummeting out of the top 100 in the world. It had been a decade since he was a serious contender in a major; heck, he didn't even qualify for the three majors that preceded the Open.
"I definitely appreciate an awful lot more what I've achieved," Clarke said. "Ten years ago, I did take an awful lot of things for granted."
His parents and new love, fiancee Alison Campbell, were at Royal St George's to cheer him on. Clarke's two boys stayed home in Northern Ireland, but he phoned them shortly after he finished off his three-stroke victory over Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
Clarke's refreshing absence of airs and graces has made him a favorite with British golf fans down the years but he arrived at Sandwich firmly in the shadow of compatriots Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, winners of the last two US Opens.
A natural player in windy, links conditions, Clarke eclipsed both men with rounds of 68, 68, 69 and 70 in some of the roughest weather seen at a British Open for many years.
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