The Ryder Cup in Ireland may be three years distant, but two members of the 2002 European Team, Darren Clarke and Phillip Price, advertised their credentials for 2006 at The K Club thanks to their impressive ascent to the top of the leaderboard in the Smurfit European Open.
Irishman Clarke, already a winner at The K Club three years ago and Welshman Price, a strong second behind Mathias Grönberg in 1998, both feel at home over the venue for The 36th Ryder Cup Matches and underlined that point emphatically, moving into a one shot lead over Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth and new course record holder, Charl Swartzel of South Africa.
Clarke fired a four under par 68 and Price a 69 as the Ryder Cup colleagues took over at the head of affairs on 135, nine under par, with Forsyth (70) on 136 alongside 18 year old Schwartzel, who carded six birdies and an eagle in shaving two shots off the best mark of 66 set the previous day.
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Clarke has experienced the peaks and troughs at The K Club, shooting a barely credible 12 under par 60 in 2000 before losing out to his close friend, Lee Westwood, after a frustrating weekend.
Right now, the man who ended a 19 year drought for Irish winners on their native turf, feels calm and relaxed and relishing his weekend’s work after putting some trans-Atlantic advice to good use.
He followed his traditional routine of phoning coach, Butch Harmon, after his first round of 67 and said: "He hadn't been watching me on television, but I described the shots and he told me what to work on. I went on the range for about an hour and I'm pretty happy with how it went.”
Clarke birdied two of his last three holes for a 68 that matched the halfway target set by Price, who did not drop a stroke in his 69.
The 34 year old also had another call to make – to the wife of his playing partner, Stephen Leaney, who was struck by one of Clarke’s wayward drives in the opening round. He explained: "Tracey was okay and I told her she was in good company. The last lady I hit was Jack Nicklaus's wife Barbara.
"I didn't see her on the course today, but I said that if she did come out that she should stand at 200 yards or 350 yards but not to stand low and left at about 270 yards” he added with a twinkle in his eye.
Even now, The Ryder Cup at The K Club stimulates Clarke’s creative juices. He commented: “I like this golf course. That goes without saying. The last two home Matches – at Valderrama and The De Vere Belfry – have been played at venues where we play tournaments, just the same as this one.
“It helps that we have played on this course for some time and I think any bit of local knowledge that helps give us an advantage, a fair advantage, can make a huge difference.
Price, who acknowledged that his season had been “tidy but nothing special” was content with his scrambling abilities, even though he didn’t hit the ball as well as in his first round 66. He said: “I should probably have shot a 73 or something like that but I kept making four, five or six footers for par which really kept me going.”
The Welshman, still in demand after his Ryder Cup heroics when he beat Phil Mickelson in the singles, admitted he is looking forward to the start of Ryder Cup qualification later this summer.
“I will be trying to make the team, but if I don’t it is not an issue to me. It was my dream to make The Ryder Cup and I have actually done it now” he said.
Forsyth had an opportunity to figure in the leading group, but drove behind a tree at the last and had to settle for a 70 and eight under par total following a dropped shot. Overall, though, he was happy to be in the shake-up over the weekend.
“This is a big event, big money and you just need to look at the leaderboard to see the quality of the field. It’s a big achievement to win this. It’s one of the best fields of the year and you have done well if you win this tournament.”
