Darren Clarke slammed his foot on the accelerator in his bid to win a pair of Volvos this month – a second Volvo Masters title at Montecastillo Hotel and Golf Resort and, even more significantly, his first Volvo Order of Merit crown. The Irishman goes into the final day of the Volvo Masters sharing the lead with Pierre Fulke of Sweden on 205, 11 under par.
On a day when Volvo Order of Merit leader Lee Westwood delivered the message that he cannot yet be discounted with a best of the day 65 for a six under par total of 210, Clarke assumed command of the situation by firing a 68 to Fulke’s 70.
Playing with seven-time Volvo Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie, Clarke outscored his partner by seven strokes to set the clubhouse target, which Fulke duly matched with a birdie at the last.
Montgomerie, trailing by eight strokes and a long way behind Westwood and Clarke in the money list, is now resigned to losing the title he has held with distinction since 1993, sitting in 27th place going into the fourth round. He said simply: “I drove the ball badly, putted badly and played badly.”
Clarke has other ideas, although he admitted he doesn’t like to “get ahead of myself”. He said: “I said at the start of the week that I wanted to put myself into a position where I could challenge for the tournament and that’s what I’ve managed to do.
“I was very patient again today. I waited for things to happen. If I could bottle (the attitude) I’ve got this week I would pay a fortune for it! I don’t know what’s going on. This hasn’t been like me.”
Clarke, as he had done in the first round, was rewarded for that patience. On Thursday he finished with three straight birdies. This time, after two bogeys had dropped him back to eight under par, he holed from 30 feet for an eagle three at the 16th and sank a 15 footer at the last for a birdie to force his way into the lead.
Fulke, the halfway leader, dropped out of a share of the lead after going into the water at the 16th but he redeemed the situation with a closing birdie to be sure of a place in the final pairing alongside Clarke.
The Swede, chasing his third European Tour title, commented: “I had lots of chances but the putter didn’t work. I had a nice birdie to finish form ten feet at the last but my goal is to win the Volvo Masters which would get me into the WGC-American Express Championship next week.”
Australian Stephen Leaney was also sharing the lead in the closing stretch but a bogey at the 17th resulted in a 69 and a ten under par total of 206 while four players – Angel Cabrera, Ricardo Gonzalez, Fredrik Jacobson and José Maria Olazábal are tied fourth on eight under par.
Leaney, the all-the-way winner of the TNT Dutch Open, admitted: “I did not play that well but it’s nice not to have played too well and still shot 69. I just did not drive well enough. Let’s hope I can play and putt better tomorrow.”
Local favourite Olazábal cannot be discounted. He bogeyed the 13th and 15th when challenging for the lead and remarked: “The bogeys hurt a lot because they came from bad shots. It was one of those days when nothing went right.”
However the real mover of the day was Westwood, who started with a 76 but has improved progressively with rounds of 69 and 65. He was, however, furious after being disturbed by a spectator who moved right in the middle of his backswing on the last tee.
The result was a vicious hook into the pond and Westwood had to make a superb bunker recovery to nine feet and sink the putt for a bogey five. He said: “I didn’t say anything to the guy. I just gave him one of those glares – the Seve glare! The one that makes you tremble and feel like crawling into the nearest hole!”
