Forget Tiger Woods, big Darren Clarke is worried about just one man in the Open at Muirfield today - himself.

The field is trembling at the thought of another magical performance by the world number one, but Clarke is more worried about the pressure he could put on himself.

"The only expectation on my shoulders is from myself," he said. "And I'm 17 stone odd, so there is a lot of weight there. Nothing else. It's only me.

"But if I'm on top of my game playing a links golf course then yes I think I can compete with anybody, especially on a links where I've grown up playing that many of them."

While players like Colin Montgomerie felt that Woods is unbeatable if he plays his best golf, Clarke has no fear of the Tiger after beating him in the World Matchplay final two years ago.

"At times we tend to forget that it's the golf course you've got to beat, not Tiger. He's obviously the number one player and is going to be a very tough guy to beat. But if I am on top of my game I like to think that I can take a second chance to beat him."

Clarke is amazed that Montgomerie should feel so intimidated by Woods' when he is on top of his game.

He said: "If Monty wants to think like that and stand up on the first tee and feel that way then good luck to him. But if I play as I know I can on a links golf course, I can compete with Tiger.

"Tiger doesn't win every tournament he plays in. He wins the majority of them, fair enough. He's one of the best players the game has ever seen.

"But if you are worrying about Tiger over every shot then you are wasting your time - beating your head against a brick wall. There's no point if you don't have enough confidence in your own ability to challenge him there is no point in playing the game.

"You see a lot of guys getting caught up in what Tiger is doing. A lot of guys are becoming obsessed by it, and it's to their detriment."

Clarke's certainly not going to waste any energy worrying about his rivals and he knows that his time to win will come.

Having finished second at Troon in 1997 and third behind David Duval last year, he knows that he is edging nearer to making his dream a reality .

"I think your turn comes. When it's your turn to win a major you win a major and in the past I think it's been a mixture of the fact that guys have played better than me and I haven't made the most of my chances.

"It's a question of putting myself in position. I've done it a couple of times but not quite as often as I would have liked," he said. "Those near misses inspire me.

"We don't always win when we have opportunities and I've only given myself two opportunities out of 11 attempts."

Clarke's recent form has been patchy with one win and just two other top ten finishes from 13 events but he's not too despondent about his form.

"For the last few weeks I've been playing well but not scoring and hopefully this is not going to be another one of those weeks," he said. "The course is very demanding and with the rough as severe as it is I'll have to be on top of my game to get myself into a position to challenge for the Championship."

But the narrowness of some of the fairways is a worry to the 33-year-old Dungannon man, especially the 448-yard opening hole which is just over 20 paces wide with waist high rough on either side.

Quipped Clarke: "They've forgotten a couple of fairways, especially number one and number ten, but it's not too bad if you drive the ball well. The driver is only going to be in play maybe three times maximum.

"There's a lot more strategy involved in playing Muirfield than other links courses. There are birdie options everywhere but that make it even more difficult at times. If you try to push too hard you are going to end up making doubles."

Clarke is hoping to put himself in position to contend coming down the back nine on Sunday and that his erratic putting will not let him down

"Last year I was in there and gave myself the chance but the putter was cold the whole week and I played really well all four days. I paid the penalty for a shot that wasn't that bad on 17 on Sunday when I went in the bunker on the 17th and I made a double. I hit all the shots but unfortunately I couldn't roll the putts in to match the shots I was hitting."

Clarke 'operated' on his putter at the Smurfit European Open but he feels he has found the weapon that will take him to his first Major.

"I have many putters in the locker, but I have a favourite one going in the bag. It's an old one. I'm going back to an old one that I've putted well with on links greens in the past."

Top

© Brian Keogh 2002

Back