Sunshine boys Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington lit up the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Island and declared: One day victory will be ours.

The deadly duo may not have broken that 19 year spell without an Irish winner but they gave it their best shot, finishing second thanks to a pair of sizzling 64s.

Harrington and Clarke shot the lights outs, producing fourteen birdies between them to share the runners up spot with Swede Niclas Fasth.

It was almost as good as a home victory as the Ryder Cup stars thrilled the huge crowds with top drawer golf in brilliant sunshine.

Seven behind Montgomerie going into the final round, Harrington birdied four of the last five holes to clinch his fourth second place finish of the season and the 13th of his career while Clarke came back from nearly missing the cut on Friday to his best ever Irish Open finish, just five behind Colm Montgomerie.

Said Harrington: "The crowds were fantastic and I've got to be happy with this second place. Sometimes you throw it away but I backed into second here and you've got to be happy with those results.

"I wasn't happy coming off the practice ground and struggled on the front nine. My timing was off and I missed a lot of fairways on the front nine. It took me a long time before I hit anything off the centre of the clubface, " he said.

Added the Dubliner: "I wasn't focussing on winning the tournament, just on being very aggressive and attacking all the pins and I holed a few putts in the end."

Clarke had goose bumps as he strode down the 18th fairway to two-putt for his eighth birdie of the day and a 64 to go with his 65 of Saturday.

Said the Dungannon man: "It's the best reception I've ever had apart from the Open at Troon. Hopefully at one stage in the future I'll have the chance to win here. There were goose bumps coming down the last with everybody shouting so if I were to win I'm sure it would be even better.

"To make the cut on the mark and then finish second was a pretty good effort, obviously I'd have loved to win but I tried my best in the last couple of rounds."

Always the perfectionist, Clarke still felt he could have done better.

Said the 32 year-old: "I feel it could have been better, comfortably four shots better over the last couple of days, but in saying that I 'm very pleased to have shot 13 under par for the last two days."

Clarke started as he finished on Saturday night, holing from eight feet for birdie at the first and then from 15 feet at the short third to get to within five of Montgomerie at that stage.

Birdies at the fourth and the sixth got the world number thirteen to nine under and close to the top of the leader board. Thoughts of challenging for the title end when he was bunkered at the short seventh and took a bogey.

But Clarke was soon back on track after the turn when he two-putted from the fringe of the 500-yard tenth hole to go 10 under. Back to back birdies a the 13th and 14th got him to 12 under par before he hit a seven iron 192 yards into the heart of the 18th green before two putting from 30 feet to join Harrington and Fasth in second position.

Harrington's showed just how determined he was to finish well with a birdie-birdie start. After finding rough off the tee on the first he hit a nine iron second to the left fringe, just 15 feet from the hole and drained the putt. A seven iron to four feet set up another birdie at the second but then the Dubliner hit a run of seven straight pars before catching fire again on the back nine.

"I just buckled down on the back nine and my timing was better and the putts dropped," he said afterwards.

After missing from 15 feet for birdie on the 10th, Harrington hit a seven iron to four feet for birdie at the next before stringing together three birdies in a row from the 14th. Six under for his round playing the last, the 29 year-old two putted from 25 feet at the 18th for a homeward run of 30 strokes, five under par.

But while Clarke and Harrington were all smiles there was disappointment for Paul McGinley and Eamonn Darcy who shots rounds of 74 and 75 respectively to finish well down the field.

Like Clarke and Harrington, McGinley got off to a flyer with birdies at three of the first four holes but faded with six bogeys from the fifth to finish with a 74 and just two under par for the tournament.

A bogey six at the dog-leg par-five fifth stopped his momentum and he played himself out of a good finish with back to back bogeys at the eight and ninth to drop back to five under.

"It was just one of those days and I've got to wipe it from my memory and start working on my game for the K Club," he said. "I was struggling with my game but holed a couple of 40 footers to get off to a flyer. But the bogey at the fifth was a killer and then I hit it in the water on eight with a four iron.

"Maybe the three week break I had coming in here was a factor and I'll have to work hard this week to get my game back in shape."

Meanwhile, Darcy's Murphy's Irish Open was a tale of the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Despite starting with a six under par 65, the Wicklow veteran crashed down the leader board with rounds of 74 and 72 before finishing bogey-bogey yesterday for a disappointing 75.

Said a disappointed Darcy: "I said on Thursday that one swallow doesn't make a summer. My golf was terrible but despite that I love playing in the Irish Open."

The former Ryder Cup star birdied the 6th, 10th and 16th yesterday but was left to regret SEVEN bogeys.

Three over par for his round playing the par-five eighteenth, Darcy bravely went for the green in two from the semi-rough on the right but finished up left and in the pond to run up a bogey six.

"My concentration was really awful and that was disappointing because conditions were perfect. It was a beautiful day for golf."

Darcy has been working hard to keep his game in shape but he doesn't feel he can turn things around in time for this week's European Open at the K Club. "I don't see what I can do," he said.

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© Brian Keogh 2001

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