quentinNorthern Ireland Wins Again, Darren Clarke Wins First Major
July 17th 2011 20:00
Darren Clarke, the Northern Irishman, won the British Open. It was ten years ago that Clarke contented for a major. He had brief challenges from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to win the championship. Clarke was steady the whole time. His 20 ft eagle on the seventh gave Clarke the lead for good. He had two bogeys on the last two holes to win the title over Mickelson and Johnson by three shots. He finished five under par for the tournament and even par 70 today. On his victory, Clarke said, “Pretty amazing right now. It's been a dream since I've been a kid to win the Open, like any kid's dream is, and I'm able to do it, which just feels incredible.” At one point, North Ireland had gone 63 years without a major. Now, it has won three of the last six. Rory McIlroy wrote on his twitter account after Clarke played his last hole, “Northern Ireland...... Golf capital of the world!!” Clarke said, “We're blessed to have two fantastic players in Rory and GMac, and I've just come along, the only guy coming along behind him.” Those guys are so close with one another that when Rory won the U.S. Open, Clarke pulled out of a tournament in Germany so he could return to Northern Ireland and join the celebration. Clarke was long overdue to win the British Open. No one had ever gone more than 15 starts in the British Open until winning, this was Clarke's 20th try. Clarke said, “I always believed I had enough talent to challenge and win one.” Clarke's five under par 275 became the first player in his 40s to win a major since Vijay Singh at the 2004 PGA Championship. The only two players who were older than Clarke to win their first majors: Roberto De Vicenzo, 44, in the 1967 British Open, and Jerry Barber, 45, in the 1961 PGA Championship. Darren Clarke is 42.
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