Rónán MacNamara in Portrush
Darren Clarke feels he is playing well enough to prolong his Open Championship career having contemplated retiring from competing in the major after Royal Troon last year.
Clarke hit the opening tee shot at Royal Portrush in 2019 and the Dunluce Links – where the 9th hole has been named after him – would have been a fitting venue for one final swan song this week but the 56-year-old may see out his remaining four Open exemptions.
“It was me that said it last year that Troon may have been the last one,” said the 2011 Open champion who had reportedly been on fire in practice but fizzled out on Thursday with an opening 75. “I made the cut and played nicely. All this week I’ve been playing nicely. I played nicely in the Champions Tour all year.
Last year was Clarke’s first made cut at the Open in seven starts and at four-over he currently sits in a share of 95th place. It will be difficult to make it back to back weekend appearances at the Open but the Dungannon man insists he will still tee it up for the Claret Jug if he believes he can still compete.
“It’s one of those things where if I got to the stage I didn’t have a chance of making the cut or have a half decent week, I wouldn’t play. I wouldn’t want to feel I was taking a spot away from a young, maybe more deserving kid. That’s maybe me 35 years ago or whatever.
“If I think I can still compete, fortunately I’ve earned the right to still play for another four of them if I want to. If I don’t think I could put on and play half decent, I wouldn’t do it. We shall see.”
Six years ago, Clarke struck the opening tee shot as the Open returned to Irish shores for the first time since 1951. This year, the honour was handed down to his compatriot, fellow Open champion and former Ryder Cup teammate, Pádraig Harrington.
While Clarke made a late switch from an iron to a driver in 2019, Harrington stuck with the three-iron, hitting two to make the green. And, like Clarke, the Dubliner got the championship off to a flyer with an opening birdie.
Clarke had previously discussed the honour of striking the first tee shot with Harrington at the US Senior Open a fortnight ago and was pleased to hear how emotional he found the experience.
“It’s one of those sorts of things where, if you haven’t played a Ryder Cup, you don’t understand what it’s all about until you do something like that. It’s a huge honour to hit the opening tee shot, especially for somebody like Padraig in Ireland. As much as I told him he was going to feel nervous and feel a bit of pressure when he walked down the steps, he probably didn’t believe me, knowing Padraig like I do.
“But I guess whenever he got there and got on the tee, oh, this is pretty big. So I’m glad to hear he was emotional about it.”
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