The majority of the field may have a distinct inferiority complex, but Darren Clarke insists he has the game to compete head-to-head with Tiger Woods in the Open at Muirfield.

Asked who would win if he was at his best and Woods was at his best, former European No1 Colin Montgomerie replied without hesitation: "He wins."

Montgomerie is perhaps simply being honest, based on his failure to win a tournament when Woods has been in the field, the latest prime example coming in May when he lost a play-off to the world No1 in Germany.

Yet Clarke clearly feels such an attitude, apparently quite common, is defeatist, and believes he can beat the Grand Slam-chasing American, as he did with a stunning victory in the 36-hole final of the World Matchplay Championship in 2000. "If Monty wants to think that way it’s up to him," the Ulsterman said. "If he wants to stand on the first tee and feel that way, good luck to him.

"The guy [Woods] doesn’t win every tournament that he plays in. He wins the majority of them, fair enough, but he doesn’t win every one.

"He is a fantastic player, probably one of the best the game has ever seen, but if you’re worrying about what Tiger is going to do every time, you’re wasting your time, beating your head against a brick wall.

"You see a lot of guys getting caught up in watching what Tiger is doing, looking at the leaderboard all the time. You know his name is going to be up there. You know he is going to be the guy to beat, but a lot of guys are becoming so obsessed by it and it’s to their detriment.

"If you don’t have enough confidence in your own ability to challenge him, there’s no point playing the game.

"If I can play as well as I can, I can compete with Tiger," Clarke went on. "Whether or not that happens, I don’t know, but if I play my best I can compete with him on a links course. It’s the golf course you have to beat, not Tiger."

Clarke finished third last year, seventh in 2000 and second in 1997, and unsurprisingly sees the Open as his best chance to win a first major championship.

"It’s a question of putting myself in opportunities where I can contend in an Open. I’ve done that a couple of times, not quite as often as I would have liked. We don’t always win when we have opportunities and I’ve given myself two opportunities in 11 attempts.

"Certainly I was in there last year and didn’t give myself a chance.

"The putter was cold the whole week. I played really well all four days and paid the penalty for a shot that wasn’t bad on the 17th on Sunday."

To that end, Clarke has been trying a wide variety of putters, including a brief and very unsuccessful flirtation with the "belly" putter being used by Montgomerie and Vijay Singh.

"I’ve got about a dozen in the locker but one is favourite to go in the bag, an old one that I’ve putted well with on links greens in the past," he added.

"I’m not putting that badly, I’m just not holing anything.

"I’m getting a lot of lip-outs and horseshoes and it’s a little bit frustrating. I’m trying to find a little bit of rhythm in my stroke. It’s got too short, I’ve been hitting it too much as opposed to stroking it."

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