After proclaiming prior to The Quinn Direct British Masters that he had little chance of making the cut, Darren Clarke defied his own expectations in spectacular fashion on Thursday with a first round 66, six under par, to share the lead with Peter Hanson at The De Vere Belfry.
The Northern Irishman’s gloomy view of his form lifted as he successfully plotted his way around a sun-kissed Brabazon Course – a venue where he has not enjoyed the greatest success in the past. His 66, which comprised six birdies, an eagle and two bogeys, beat his previous best score over the layout by two strokes.
Clarke was not alone as the confidence returned to his veins. A shot back after rounds of 67 were Paul Casey and Jarmo Sandelin, men whom for different reasons prompted much talk of renewed confidence.
Joining the pair late in the day on five under par was US Open Champion Michael Campbell, who added his considerable talents to a strong first day leaderboard.
“The last thing I expected was that after the way I played yesterday,” admitted Clarke. “I went to the range after the Pro-Am and it was a case of either staying on the range and breaking a few clubs, or having a rest and coming back later. I chose the second one and went back to the range at six o’clock and worked for a couple of hours and managed to find something that semi-worked.”
Hanson has shown steady improvement over recent months, evidenced by his tenth place finish at the Volvo China Open and his share of 11th place at the Andalucía Open de España Valle Romano, and the Swede made a blistering start with five birdies in the opening six holes.
“It is amazing when things like that happen. I wasn’t really knocking the shots stiff but I was just rolling in one putt after another. It felt like the hole was so big,” he said.
Hanson’s progress slowed as he played the next eight holes in one over par before reeling off three more birdies. At that stage he looked like he would overtake Clarke at the top of the leaderboard but was undone by the club that had served him so well, his putter, as he took three on the 18th green for a bogey five.
His fellow Swede, Sandelin, feels born again after an upturn in form that has followed the darkest years of the former Ryder Cup player’s career. Losing his card in 2005 proved to be the spur he needed and he realigned his aims and redoubled his efforts. The result has been a successful trip to the Qualifying School and, since then, three top-ten finishes topped by last week’s tied second place at the Telecom Italia Open.
The five-time European Tour winner, who attributes some of his improvement to his coach Robert Baker, said: “I think that losing my card was a very good wake-up call for me. That was the moment when I decided to make another really important decision. Whatever I do for the moment, I always think, firstly, is it good for golf. If it is not good for golf I probably don’t do it. I eat golf, I sleep golf, I think golf.”
While Casey, who produced a beautifully controlled bogey-free 67, does not have any worries about his Tour status, it is his standing in the World Ranking that is on the Englishman’s mind.
Casey currently sits in 57th place and must break into the top 50 by the finish of the US PGA Championship if he is to make the field for the US Open, where Campbell, who completed the trio on five under, will defend the title he won in spectacular fashion last year.
“I was disappointed I didn’t finish off the round. I was four under after six holes and came in five under. But having not played competitive golf for four weeks or so it is nice to come back here and be amongst it,” said Campbell.
