What did Darren Clarke do after winning the Claret Jug? Party until dawn. The next move will involve a good look at the future. Alistair Tait explains.
Tag Archive: claret jug
• The Dane avoided the bunker that was his downfall in 2003
• Fourth-placed finish is his best at the Open for eight years
By the time Thomas Bjorn reached the 16th hole at Royal St George’s on Sunday, the possibility of a demon being exorcised was less relevant than could have been the case.
Had Bjorn stepped on to the tee at that par‑three with a legitimate chance of pipping Darren Clarke to the Open title, there would have been no shortage of scrutiny. It was in a bunker at that very hole, after all, that Bjorn’s hopes of lifting the Claret Jug all but disappeared eight years ago.
This time, and with three holes left to play, Bjorn was five shots adrift of Clarke. The Dane’s body language when missing a 10‑foot putt for par on the 15th suggested he knew this race had been run.
For the record – and with the pin placement exactly the same as it was eight years earlier – Bjorn found the front of the green with that 16th tee shot.
There was none of the pressure of 2003, a matter owing more to Clarke’s Sunday performance than anything Bjorn had done overtly wrong. Bjorn’s challenge, like that of others, simply fell by the wayside.
“I played well, I gave it all I had and came up short but Darren was too strong for everyone this week,” said Bjorn. “That is all you can do, give it everything you can. I played well and did most things right and I am delighted with the week as a whole because it gives me a confidence boost going forward.
“I love this tournament, I absolutely think it is the best in the world to play and every time you get a chance to get into it you get an extra kick.”
Bjorn’s display in Sandwich is one of the most endearing stories of this Open, despite slips in the closing holes returning him to an aggregate of one under par. He was not even in the draw a week ago, the 40-year-old afforded a late call-up after Vijay Singh’s withdrawal. By Sunday evening, Bjorn had claimed fourth place, his finest Open finish by some distance since that last major visit to Kent.
“People want me to say I have put a lot of things behind me this week but I don’t live in the past,” Bjorn said. “I came in here with a chance of playing in an Open Championship and I gave it all I had.
“I didn’t think about what happened eight years ago, I thought about this week and what was ahead of me and I will keep doing that. I strongly believe that is the way to play the game, if you live in the past you have no chance.”
As Bjorn knocked it round the old links in a mere 65 blows on Thursday, it seemed nonsensical that his place had not been secured earlier. The reality is that his form has been patchy, something illustrated by Bjorn’s performance and demeanour at the Scottish Open.
This reappearance on the big stage was a popular one. Bjorn remains one of the most popular players on the European Tour; he has refused to talk publicly about his sand trap disaster of 2003 during the intervening years but anyone who witnessed those painful moments could only feel compassion. Earlier this year, Bjorn took time away from golf following the death of his father.
Bjorn’s display, added to that of Phil Mickelson and, of course, Clarke, also provides an alternative to the theory that professional golf is today the game of the young man.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
SANDWICH, England — Another major goes to Northern Ireland. The surprise was Darren Clarke’s name on the claret jug.
Ten years after he last contended in a major, no longer in the top 100 in the world, Clarke delivered his defining moment Sunday in the British Open when he held off brief challenges from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to win golf’s oldest championship.
Another major goes to Northern Ireland. The surprise was Darren Clarke’s name on the claret jug. Ten years after he last contended in a major, no longer in the top 100 in the world, Clarke delivered his defining moment Sunday in the British Open when he held off brief challenges from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to win golf’s oldest championship.
About the only predictable part of this British Open is the weather. The biggest surprise is the list of contenders for the claret jug. The weather was wild again Saturday, shifting from a raging wind to a gentle sea breeze, from a driving rain to brilliant sunshine, and leaving most of the field wet, tired and feeling as though they got the short end of the draw.
PGT: It’s may be hard to believe, but Phil Mickelson is playing well enough to overcome the weather and course conditions to end up with the claret jug at the British Open on Sunday.
GolfChannel: Americans have been relegated to a punchline of late in the golf world, but that may all change Sunday as Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and others are in contention for the claret jug at the British Open.
PGT: It’s may be hard to believe, but Phil Mickelson is playing well enough to overcome the weather and course conditions to end up with the claret jug at the British Open on Sunday.
Don’t look now, but Phil Mickelson still has a chance to win his first claret jug, writes Gary Van Sickle.
It was at Royal St George's in 2003 that the Ryder Cup stalwart had one hand on the Claret Jug as he led the Open by three strokes with just four holes to play only to suffer a meltdown that evoked memories of Frenchman Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie four year beforehand.
Welwyn Garden City prodigy in danger of being mugged for the leading amateur title by American Peter Uihlein
It would seem almost unedifying if Tom Lewis, whose first 18 holes of the Open Championship offered fairytale material, spends Sunday scrapping for a less salubrious prize than the Claret Jug.
Peter Uihlein’s 75 on Saturday – an admirable score, given he played in easily the most severe of the day’s conditions – left him seven over for the tournament. That was eight shots better off than Lewis before the Englishman strode on to the tee for his latest round in the company of a luminary, this time Phil Mickelson.
Lewis’s main task from the moment he dropped four shots in his opening eight third-round holes was straightforward. Rather than reignite a challenge for the championship, the 20-year-old has to ensure he does not concede the silver medal awarded for the best amateur performance at the season’s third major to Uihlein. A seemingly straightforward task for Lewis now requires a bit of Sunday work.
There is a worst-case scenario and precedent that Lewis must guard against. In 1995, Gordon Sherry’s impressive finish at the Scottish Open and stunning start to the Open a week later made him the hottest amateur property in golf.
What has been lost in the subsequent years is that Sherry did not even claim the silver medal at St Andrews, Steve Webster did. The Scot’s subsequent disappearance from the golfing spectrum, moreover, serves as a warning to the likes of Lewis.
The story of Sherry, though, contrasts to the success enjoyed by Rory McIlroy since he claimed the top amateur prize at the Carnoustie Open of 2007. Despite a slow start to his professional career, Justin Rose has also built on landing abruptly into the spotlight on account of a showing as an amateur at the Open.
All available evidence suggests Lewis will emerge strongly, and not remotely damaged, from his Sandwich visit. Key to that is the strength and ability of those around him, let alone his own prodigious talent. But it would be appropriate for the kid whose name was on everybody’s lips on Thursday evening to leave Royal St George’s with a tangible reward.
In order to do that, Lewis must press home an advantage over the United States amateur champion which now sits at two strokes. A third-round 76 from Lewis narrowed a gap which few people had even paid attention to on Saturday morning.
An ugly, pulled tee shot on the 3rd triggered the first of three successive bogeys for Lewis. Chances to retrieve that situation in part, on the 6th and 7th, resulted in birdie putts being left short of the hole. As Lewis completed his outward nine in 40 shots, Uihlein was given hope.
Mickelson had played that opening half three shots better than his playing partner. It remains a notable aspect of the American’s game that he struggles to such an extent on links courses, not least because he seems to relish it so much.
At an aggregate of level par, Mickelson will retain hope of ending a barren Open run on Sunday. Unlike so many of those who precede him on the leaderboard, he knows what it takes to win a major title. Mickelson is in contention here, of that there is no doubt.
Lewis should not have been perplexed by the wild conditions that the early part of his round was played in. Top amateur players on these shores regularly compete in the most inclement of weather; Lewis’s caddie, Lorne Duncan, donned a pair of sandals in a display of how relaxed he was about the wind and rain.
The weight of expectation can be heavier than anything that falls from the sky. Even for someone so relaxed, the reality of sharp focus and scrutiny as he edged towards an outstanding round of 65 on Thursday would naturally prove difficult for Lewis to handle.
Yet the man from Welwyn Garden City steadied himself at the onset of the back nine, carding five straight pars. Mickelson bogeyed the 10th but holed a long putt on 11 to remain within touching distance of the leading pack. As the American moved back to level par with four holes to play, Mickelson’s policy of treating this Open as if it were his debut appeared more than a mental gimmick.
Lewis stumbled to another bogey on the 15th, a confident putt on the penultimate hole allowed him a first birdie of the day, but another shot was dropped on 18. Most neutrals hope a two-shot advantage is sufficient to prevent an anti-climax.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
PGT: Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thomas Bjorn have all had to overcome more than just the quirks and bumps of Royal St. George’s to get into contention for the Claret Jug. And now, just maybe, fate is on their side.
Phil Mickelson and links courses go together like high fades and 40 mph crosswinds. No matter. The new Lefty loves Royal St. George’s and even has a shot at a first British Open title, writes ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski.
