Darren Clarke won his first senior Major at 53

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Northern Irishman Darren Clarke won his first senior Major at the age of 53. Four Tricolores were engaged, two passed the cut.

Darren Clarke, senior Major

Eleven years after his victory at The Open at Royal St George's, Darren Clarke won the same senior title this Sunday on the legendary Gleneagles course in Scotland. After his 69 (-1) of the last lap with a magnificent birdie at 18, the man with ten victories on the European circuit is ahead of Padraig Harrington by one point. The Irishman has also signed a fantastic last nine holes with six birdies.

A group of six players, including Ernie Els and Thongchai Jaidee, share third place, two points behind the winner.

Four Tricolores were at the start of the Major reserved for the over 50s. If they finish far in the standings with each a difficult last day, Jean-François Remésy (+6, 53rd) and Thomas Levet (+15, 69th) had made the cut.

This was not the case for Roger Sabarros and Nicolas Beaufils (+14, 132nd). Note that the two men had qualified a few days before the start of the event.

Darren Clarke, OBE (born August 14, 1968 in Dungannon, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and the US PGA Tour for years. His habit of occasionally smoking cigars during the round of golf is striking.

Clarke, who grew up playing rugby, started playing golf at the age of 11.After winning two amateur titles in 1990, the Spanish Amateur Open Championship and the Irish Amateur Closed Championship, Clarke has played on the European Tour since 1991. In 1993 he won his first professional tournament, the Alfred Dunhill Open. In 2000 he won the WGC World Matchplay Championship, beating Tiger Woods in the final. His best years on the European Tour so far have been 1998, 2000 and 2003, both finishing second in the European Tour Order of Merit. In the prestigious Ryder Cup, he played consecutively for the European team from 1997 to 2006. In 2005, he skipped several tournaments to look after his wife, Heather, who was suffering from cancer. In August 2006, she succumbed to her illness. That year he was selected by Captain Ian Woosnam as captain's pick (free choice of captain) at the Ryder Cup, was victorious in all three of his matches and thus contributed significantly to Europe's victory. In 2011, he won The Open Championship, his first major tournament triumph. In January 2012, Clarke was awarded the Laureus Sport Award in the World Comeback of the Year category.

Darren Clarke is a so-called streaky player, which in golf jargon means that you can play series of holes under par and is predestined for record-breaking rounds. Occasionally, however, this can turn into the exact opposite, and Clarke in particular has given up many a tournament listlessly.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/gN6i5Pe

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