An
in depth interview with golf swing guru David Leadbetter, about his relationship
with six time major winner Nick Faldo and more, click
here.
Clarke now sets aims
even higher
Tiger Woods realised in
infancy he was destined to become a great golfer.
Darren Clarke preferred
rugby union before discovering he could strike a golf ball straight enough to
earn a comfortable living.
Woods equalled Ben Hogan's
winning streak of six tournaments in a row this year and could conceivably eclipse
the achievements of any of the other giants of the game.
Clarke is widely regarded
as a talented under-achiever whose comfortable build betrays his dislike for
physical exercise and fondness for a pint.
Yet on Sunday it was the
amiable Northern Irishman, a 20-1 outsider, who prevailed over the world number
one in the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship in Carlsbad, California.
Clarke, who shares coach
Butch Harmon with Woods, produced a series of dazzling iron shots to trounce
the world number one 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final.
"Darren has the ability
to play great golf," Woods said. "It's just dependent on how dedicated he is
to the work ethic.
"Butch has been trying
to get him to work a little harder."
No one has ever questioned
Clarke's talent.
Without the benefit of
a formal lesson, he had a handicap of plus three by the age of 17.
Clarke, 31, turned professional
10 years ago but to date has won only five European tour events although he has
consistently finished high up the leaderboard.
"I am happy-go-lucky most
of the time," he said in a newspaper interview. "Part of it is the Irish thing,
wanting to go and have a pint every now and then.
"That doesn't quite fit
into the professional golfer mould. The professional golfer shouldn't have any
time to go to the bar.
"But I find I have got
to take a little bit of time away from it, have a pint or two and still relax
a little bit. I can't change it. That is the way I am."
Clarke may not work hard
at his physical conditioning but he does practise hard.
Although out-driven on
almost every hole on Sunday his precision with his irons set him up for five
birdies in eight holes in Sunday's afternoon session.
Before play began, Clarke
shouted out to Harmon; "I don't think I'll be needing you today."
His confidence was justified.
"Was I surprised?" Woods
asked rhetorically. "No, not at all because Darren has played like this all week.
He's played beautifully. He's played a lot of good solid shots all week and he's
putted well.
"That's a tough combination
to try and beat when you're not playing as well as you would like."
Clarke won a million dollars
and jumped five places to 14th in the world rankings after Sunday's heroics.
"My next aim is to get
into the top 10," he said. "And I'd obviously like to win a major."
