In a unique new event, the worlds of Golf and American football come together for the inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame at The Old Course at Broken Sound in Florida, and Darren Clarke finds himself just two shots off the pace after firing a two-under 70 in testing winds.
Playing alongside NFL Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware, Clarke made heavy going at first and turned at +1 but he’d played the tougher back nine first and scraped his way back to level-par though 15 holes after two birdies and a bogey in his first six on the way home.
Clarke is a former course winner having secured his maiden Champions Tour title here in 2020 at the TimberTech Championship. Although recent renovations have altered the look somewhat, there’s still good memories in there and two birdies in his final three holes moved him inside the top 10 at -2.
“The game is trending in the right direction,” Clarke noted. “I’m hitting it nicely, though like any pro, you want to hole a few more putts.”
He goes into the final 36 holes just two shots back from the leading quintet of Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez, Germany’s Alex Cejka, Denmark’s Thomas Bjørn, and Australia’s David Bransdon, with Greg Chalmers and Jay Haas one further back at -3.
Bjørn is still seeking his first PGA Tour Champions success, while Jiménez is already just one win shy of tying his best season on the senior circuit having collected two wins in the first six events.
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