Darren Clarke
Residence: Chobham, Berkshire
DOB: 14/08/1968
Darren Clarke has been one of Europe’s best golfers for many years know for his passion and commitment to the European Team in recent Ryder Cup Matches.
As an amateur, he won the 1990 Spanish Amateur Open Championship and also the Irish Amateur Championship. Since turning pro has come second in the European Order of Merit no less than three times – in 1998, 2000 and 2003. His professionals Tour wins include victories in both the Europe and the US – starting with the Alfred Dunhill in 1993.
Darren has 2 wins on the PGA tour both at WGC events. His first came at the WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship. His second came at the 2003 World Golf Championships NEC Invitational. It was at another WGC event – the Andersen Consulting Matchplay – where he famously beat Tiger Woods.
Sadly, however, for the few years, Darren has had more important things to worry about than golf – and most readers will know of the tragic death of his wife Heather in the summer of 2006 after a brave fight against breast cancer. Only a few weeks later, he let Ryder Cup Captain Ian Woosnam know he was still available for selection and was picked as one of the wild cards for battle against the Americans at The K Club where, amazingly, he won all three of his matches and helped secure Europe’s emphatic victory.
2008 marked the return to the top of the game for Darren. His win in the BMW Asian Open was his first title in nearly five years. He followed this up with a further victory at The KLM Open. These victories and further top-10’s help lift Darren 13 in the Order of Merit at the end of the season. This was his best finish since 2004.
Darren Clarke Club History
Below is a selection of clubs used by Darren Clarke throughout his career
Darren Clarke Tournament History
2009 World Golf Championship - CA Championship |
12-15 March 2009 - Doral Golf and Spa Resort - Phil Mickelson won his first World Golf Championships title on Sunday at the CA Championship, where he held off Nick Watney to take the title by one stroke and his 36th career victory. However this was perhaps not the most news worthy story of the week. During his opening round, Henrik Stenson thought it a good idea to play from out of the water! After stripping down to his boxer shorts the Swede preceded to do just this. And it was down to PGA Tour photographer Kyle Auclair to capture this magical moment. With the world’s best golf photographers trailing Tiger Woods, Kyle decided he was going to follow other players instead. Little did he know this particular sequence of images would be plastered on newspapers, websites and television shows all over the country the next day. |
In Darren Clarke's bag...Improving on every previous round is always a good way to progress through a tournament. However this time Darren set the bar a little too low with an opening round of 74 and this caused too much damage that couldn’t be repaired by the 72nd hole. He finished on -3 and in a tie for 46th place. There were no surprises when Darren came out for the 2009 season with the New TaylorMade R9 in his bag! He is also using the new TaylorMade Burner Tour Launch fairway woods. His irons are a little older but are of course still TaylorMade’s - the RAC TP Forged model. This is where his relationship with TaylorMade ends - choosing to rather use Titleist Vokey Spin Milled wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
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2008 Portugal Masters |
16-19 October - Portugal Masters - Oceânico Victoria Golf Course. Spain’s Alvaro Quiros was victorious at the Portugal Masters after holding off a determined challenge from Europe’s form player, Robert Karlsson. The 25 year old from Cadiz pocketed the €500,000 winner’s cheque - the largest of his career - after a final round 68 (a 19 under par total); he immediately dedicated his win to Seve Ballesteros, who was recovering in hospital from an operation to remove a brain tumour at the time. European Order of Merit leader Karlsson, who had begun the final round only a shot behind the Spaniard, had to settle for a share of third place after carding a 71. |
In Darren Clarke's bag...A final round of 66 catapulted Darren Clarke from 59th position to finish in a tie for 23rd. Earlier rounds of 72, 69 and 74 had left the Northern Irishman in the middle of the leader board. Darren was using TaylorMade’s Burner Tour TP driver this week. He was also using the TaylorMade Burner Tour Launch fairway woods. His irons are a little older but are of course still TaylorMade’s - the RAC TP Forged model. This is where his relationship with TaylorMade ends - choosing to rather use Titleist Vokey Spin Milled wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
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2007 Barclays Scottish Open |
12-15 July - The Barclays Scottish Open - Loch Lomond. As the curtain raiser to the Open Championship the following week at Carnoustie, the Barclays Scottish Open attracted some of the biggest names in the world – Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Luke Donald and others all made the trip. It wasn’t, however, one of the big names who walked away with the £50,000 first prize – but a virtually unknown Frenchman - Gregory Havret - who holed a tricky 5-footer on the first extra hole to beat world no 3 Phil Mickelson in a play-off. The title also earned Havret the last remaining spot at the Open. |
In Darren Clarke's bag...Slightly better shots of Darren Clarke's bag at the Scottish Open - with his initials DC clearly stamped on his TaylorMade rac TP Forged irons
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
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2007 PODS Championship |
8-11 March - PODS Championship - Westin Innisbrook - Copperhead Course. Won by 1998 Open Champion Mark Calcavecchia with a 10 under par score of 274. This was Calcavecchia’s first Tour victory since the 2005 Bell Canadian – and his 13th win in total. The $954,000 first prize takes him over the $20m career earnings for his career. He finished at 10-under 274 – and had a bit of a let-off when Heath Slocum missed a 4-foot par putt on the final hole which would have taken him into the play-off. |
In Darren Clarke's bag...In Darren's bag at the PODS, TaylorMade RAC TP irons, TaylorMade R7 Superquad driver.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
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