Stunning third round shows why Clarke’s game is in rude health

Joy Chakravarty 05:36 20/07/2014
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  • Fitter, happier and more productive: Darren Clarke was in fine form on Saturday.

    It’s not just the trouser size that is dropping for Darren Clarke. His scores have also started to follow suit.

    The almost-unrecognisable 2011 Open champion, who has lost a lit­tle over four stone in weight (appx 26 kilos) and now wears size 32 trousers instead of 41, shot a bril­liant round of five-under par 67 – the joint-best of the day – to put him on course for his best finish at a major since that triumph at Royal St. George’s two years ago.

    Starting on the easier back nine of Royal Liverpool, the Ulsterman made seven consecu­tive pars, but caught fire over the stretch of next seven holes, in which he made six birdies and a three-putt bogey.

    That helped him move to five-under par for the tournament, tied for 12th place and 11 shots behind leader Rory McIlroy.

    Clarke said: “I played nicely all day. I gave myself lots of chances. Made a few, missed a few.

    “The rain was pretty heavy at the start, but I think we got a break with the weather; it wasn’t sup­posed to be as good as what it’s turned out to be.

    “I just kept hitting it close, and then had a silly three-putt on the third from just off the edge of the green, and managed to hole a 40-footer on the next one to get it straight back again. So it was good.

    “I’ve been playing okay for quite some time. Today I holed a couple of putts and managed to keep some momentum going.”

    Clarke, who decided to get into shape after watching himself on TV in a bar at St Andrews during last September’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, said it took a while for his game to catch up with his new physique.

    “I’m not as fat as I was. So my tim­ing, it took me a little bit of time to adjust to that,” said Clarke, who is now ranked 394th in the world and hasn’t finished inside the top-20 this year, missing nine cuts in 16 starts.

    “It’s not quite Jane Fonda’s workout but I’ll probably go to the gym this afternoon and lift some weights for 20, 25 minutes.

    “My club head speed and ball speed have both become faster. I’ve now got slightly stiffer shafts than I used before. The ball-striking has been pretty good. I just need to knock in a few putts and get some momentum going. It feels like I’ve started to do that.

    “I hoped it (being fat) was the problem. If you’ve got 50 pounds or 60 pounds sitting in front of your gut, you’re going to swing a lot slower through the ball than what you would do otherwise. And I kept leaving the club behind me. I’ve done a few things this week. The club’s got back in front of me again, so it’s been better.”

    Clarke reiterated The Open re­mains his favourite tournament and that he’d give it his best shot to go low in today’s final round.

    “It’s the biggest and best tourna­ment in the world. I enjoy playing links golf and The Open Champion­ship is one that I always look for­ward to playing from the start of the year,” said Clarke.

    “I’ve just got to go play. I think we’re going to have a little bit of wind forecast. I’ll just go and play and do my best and see what that is. I just want to keep on hitting the ball the way I am.”

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