Darren Clarke still high on his win at the Open Championship: Lee Westwood reveals
Irishman Darren Clarke is riding on a high tide for the moment after his glorious victory at the Open Championship a fortnight ago at the Royal St. George’s, Sandwich. World number two Lee Westwood, who failed to make the cut at the third major of the season,
has revealed that Clarke’s text messages are still incoherent, signaling that the Northern Irishman is still enjoying the spills of his hard work, possibly drenched in the legendary Irish Whiskey.
“We’ve been sending texts, but even over the texts you can see he’s had too much to drink,” Westwood said. “He can’t spell.”
Funny as it may sound, but for Clarke, it is every bit the culmination of his long and arduous struggle that spans almost two decades. The 42-year-old Irishman has tried his luck at the Open turf for a staggering 20 times but had never won a single major
in his career.
Although still lagging Westwood in terms of Greens in Regulation, Clarke feels as if he has stumbled on a new beginning in his life. He also plans to be part of the Ryder Cup team in the coming season and is hoping to take up the sport with a brand new perspective.
“It would be great to get back in the Ryder Cup team again. I'd like to think I'm still good enough. It feels a bit like the start of a new career, because now I'm back into all those big tournaments again,” the Daily Mirror quoted Clarke as saying. “I've
got lots of years left in golf. I'd like to play on until I'm 55, then I would go around the world fishing.”
Clarke kept his steady toil going all throughout the weekend, battling the tough Links course with impressive disposition. He posted rounds of 68, 68, 69 and 70 to edge past the American contenders Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson with three-shot lead.
Clarke bagged a whopping prize share of £900,000 and another huge booty of £2-million promised by his sponsor Dunlop. But what has been more important for Clarke, has probably been the conclusion of a grand career in golf which overlooked no fewer than 22
professional wins.
Clarke was on the verge of quitting on the sport just a few months back, giving into his consecutive failures on both sides of the Atlantic. He slumped to a career low on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and decided to take a break from mainstream
sport on the advice of his agent Chubby Chandler of the International Sports Management (ISM).
Clarke returned with a rejuvenated spirit and took the better of the field at Mallorca on the European Tour. The Irishman will be one strong force to reckon with in the upcoming events of the sport and will be reinforced by his rampaging countrymen Rory
McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.
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