Darren Clarke on verge of missing the Masters Tournament – Golf News
The British Open champion, Darren Clarke, is on the verge of missing the Masters Tournament after he strained a groin muscle during the second round of the Shell Houston Open on Friday, March 30, 2012.
Clarke suffered a severe pain in his groin muscle while he was playing his delayed second round. He carded one-under par 71 and missed the cut by only one stroke.
Right after he left the field, he was advised by his trainer to see a doctor in order to get a complete report on the injury.
However, Clarke insisted that he may easily recover from it if he takes some rest before the Masters. He said that he had been through this type of injury in the past and all he needed was a little rest.
“I’ve had these types of injuries in the past and there’s not much you can do but rest,” Clarke said.
“It’s a really long walk around this golf course and I could have come in after three to four holes this morning. It seemed okay when I finished my first round today but it just got progressively worse in the second round”.
Despite the fact that Clarke is not much worried about the injury, he said that the only disappointment he faced was missing the cut in the tournament.
He said that the Masters is approaching and therefore, he needed a good finish in order to enter the field of Augusta National with better temperament and attitude.
Contrarily, he is a little upset and his poor performance at the Redstone Golf Club can cause his confidence to shatter prior to the first major event of the year.
Meanwhile, the United States’ Hunter Mahan outclassed his opponents on the field to take a one-stroke victory on Sunday.
Mahan scored one-under par 71 in the final round, which was enough to enable him to take the top spot on the leaderboard.
On the other hand, the 54-hole leader, Louis Oosthuizen faltered on Sunday and scored three-over par 75 to slip down to the third place.
Ernie Els, who needed a win to register his place in the Masters, tied for the 12th position and missed the chance of earning a ticket to the Augusta National.
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