The self-proclaimed fourth-best golfer from Ulster he may be these days, but Darren Clarke is as competitive as ever and put himself in position once again to try and win the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.
Twice a top-five finisher on the lochside, the Portrush man shot an opening 65 without a bogey in heavy afternoon rain to claim a one-shot lead over fellow Irishman Damien McGrane, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari and Graeme Storm, the former amateur and French Open champion.
There were solid showings from surprises in John Daly (67), young Japanese phenomenon Ryo Ishikawa (67) and former Barclays champion Johann Edfors, but it was Clarke typecast as a more of a mentor to the young talent from Northern Ireland than a competitor who took the lead.
“Am I Ulster’s fourth-ranked player these days? Lucky that I’m not fifth, I think,” he joked, his last victory coming in a brave but fruitless attempt to make the Ryder Cup team two years ago.
“I’ve been delighted to see Graeme (McDowell) and Rory’s (McIlroy) success. It’s fantastic for European golf, for Ulster and Irish golf and I’ve encouraged them all I can, but it works both ways.
“They’ve been encouraging me to get back and you wouldn’t expect anything else of them.”
Clarke has shown signs of form, notably in the J P McManus Pro-Am at County Adare, which he won after a good French Open week.
He said, “I’ve been doing all the right things and it was just a change in putting set up I made on Thursday night in Paris that got the ball rolling better and it happened again at Adare Manor and now here.
“Obviously I’ve always been a confidence player and seeing the ball go into the hole more often clearly gets me going, because I don’t think I’m playing that much different.”
Lack of success, however, had got him thinking about other things.Tempting breakClarke said, “I was talking about taking a break and the red stool in the bottom corner of the Harbour Bar in Portrush was looking tempting.
“That was just frustration, though. Sometimes I just make the game as difficult as I can for myself.”
He added, “I still want to win tournaments, that’s why I started playing golf and why I do it. That hasn’t diminished in the slightest.” The ultimate carrot is finishing in the top five and claiming the last available spot in the Open, but the tour veteran isn’t considering that.
He said, “Long way to go yet, and of course I’d like to qualify for next week but this is a big event for me and I’ve got close a few times in the past.
“My focus is this week and playing as well as I can. If that gets me into the Open next week then that would be fantastic.”
It seemed that both Molinaris battling for Ryder Cup spots would be towards the top of the leaderboard but Edoardo’s adage that neither play well on the same day held true as Francesco bogeyed the last two holes to finish two behind his elder brother.
The pair teamed for Italy’s World Cup victory last year and would make a solid combination for Colin Montgomerie, but Edoardo thinks that his brother has the inside line.
He said, “I think Francesco will make it because he’s very steady and he’s going to have more good finishes from here to Gleneagles.
“I’m far behind now but I never expected to make the team. I guess a win would help me but I need to finish top three two times.”
Ishikawa (18), in tartan trousers he has more for next week only had one bogey in an accomplished debut at Loch Lomond while playing with Phil Mickelson, who struggled to get the pace of the greens and managed only two birdies, while a lost ball at the short par four 14th cost him a double-bogey and left him on 71.
Ernie Els threatened the lead, particularly during one stretch of four birdies close to the turn, but eventually settled for a two-under 69.