Darren Clarke aims for a double at the Irish Open
Open Champion Darren Clarke revealed his desire of adding the Irish Open title to his list of victories. The Irishman will be competing for the title, which is taking place at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club from July 28, 2011.
Clarke was speaking at a press conference and said, “I would love to the double and win the Irish Open after winning at Sandwich. I’ve been close on a number of occasions and never quite got the job done – a bit like in The Open you
could say. It would be a h**l of an achievement - a dream come true - to have The Open and Irish Open trophies on display back at home. It has already been an amazing month for me and to do the double would be unbelievable.”
Clarke has arrived in Ireland, where this week’s Irish Open will be played. The 42-year-old was greeted by a huge crowd, who savours him as their hero. The veteran became the fourth local to win a major; before him, it was Padraig
Harrington, who is a three-time winner, Graeme McDowell, who lifted the US Open trophy in 2010 and Rory McIlroy, who bagged it in 2011.
Teary at the humongous support from the crowd, the veteran pledged that he would put all his effort in entertaining his home crowd in the coming week.
He stated, “I’ll be trying my best to do it and I’m sure the home support will help me along the way.”
Clarke is bidding for something which only Harrington and Sir Nick Faldo fulfilled in their careers. Harrington held both the titles in 2007, while Faldo achieved it in 1992.
However, Clarke's fulfillment of the bid won't be easy, as he admitted himself. The Open champion will be competing against his compatriots, US Open winner McIlroy, and McDowell, whose game is made for the Irish courses. It will be
a tough ask for Clarke to compete with those two, however, that is exactly what he did at the Open as well, one might argue.
Clarke, who is certain of a local homecoming this week, has earlier enjoyed success at his home course in the 2001 European Open at The K Club.
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