Darren Clarke wants a dialogue to start within golf to solve its current problems, even though it’s not going to really affect him.
Clarke’s target for the weekend at Gleneagles is to “give myself a chance to put this Jug beside the other one” referring to the Senior Open Claret Jug trophy to the original he won in 2011.
In the short-term, it’s annoying for the Northern Irishman to have to be part of the committee to pick a Ryder Cup captain yet again. But the Henrik Stenson situation aside, he fears for the health of the game as the civil wars between the established tours and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf continue.
‘That would be a benefit for everyone’
July 17, 2011: At the age 42, with his chances to win a major championship seemingly behind him, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland secures a popular victory at #TheOpen Championship at Royal St. Georges with a three-shot victory over Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. pic.twitter.com/cFyAG2UEcM
— ThisDayInGolf (@ThisDayInGolf) July 17, 2022
“I don’t have to get away from (LIV Golf) because I was never in it!” he said. “It’s irrelevant for me.
“But just for the sake of the game for a while it would be nice if some dialogue could take place. That would be for the benefit of everyone.
“I’m not that smart, I’m not involved and it’s nothing to do with me. It’s a sad state of affairs for the game right now so let’s hope it can be resolved one way or the other.”
In the meantime, Clarke is loving leading at eight-under on the King’s Course he remembers fondly from Bell’s Scottish Opens past.
Often critical in the past of the PGA Centenary Course, which has mostly been in play for elite tournament golf for the past 25 years, Clarke welcomed the return to James Braid’s classic layout.
“All the Bell’s Scottish Opens I played here, you learn where to hit and where not to,” he said. “It’s been very beneficial to remember. But it’s just wonderful to play again at the Kings’.
“This is one of my favourite places to come and play, the hotel and everything about the place. I’ve had some great times here.”
The King’s is as linksy this week as he can remember, though.
‘The fairways are so good, you can really nip one’
Day 2 of the Senior Open presented by @ROLEX is underway @euLegendsTour pic.twitter.com/IIXav2rhSm
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“There’s a few flags that were out there today as well that you just cannot go after,” he said after his second round 67. “You’ve got to hit away from those as well. So they’re a little bit linksy as well.
“With the fairways being as good as they are, as tight as they are, you can really nip one. So it gives you opportunity.
“If you keep it in the fairway around here, you can score. But if you start missing the fairways, it’s going to be a struggle because you’re playing for fliers and the ball is releasing as much, you never know how far or short of the green to land it.”
But there are other hazards apart from the bracken and rough – the famous saddle at the 18th, which Clarke caught with his second shot as he went for the green in two.
“It’s a risky shot,” he said. “If you’re trying to hit a three-wood almost 290 yards then there’s always a chance you’re going to hit it into the slope there.
“There’s no point launching it high in the air because you’re not going to get it to the green. So you’ve got to take a gamble. If it comes out the way it does, doesn’t get up in the air but goes straight you’ve still got a chance of landing on the fairway.”
That’s what happened, the ball stayed straight and on the fairway and Clarke got up and down for his birdie four.
“With the new back tee, it doesn’t make any sense percentage-wise to hit driver off the tee,” he said. “So it’s three wood off there and then rip another three wood. The trajectory was close to what I wanted but not just up enough.”
Frost ageing as well as his wine
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Clarke was one of the few in the list of first round leaders to advance his position on a much cooler day.
Behind him, another veteran of good old days at the Bell’s Scottish, South Africa’s David Frost, came through with a 68 to lie just off the lead – just a few days after having to qualify.
“I was digging my way through the entry forms when they came out, looking for my exemption. When I couldn’t find one, I thought ‘okay, let’s try to qualify’,” said the 62-year-old, still a regular on the Champions Tour.
“You’ve got to come over, you’ve got to book a ticket, you’ve got to book hotels. You’re into it for $3-4,000 before you even start.
“But what else am I going to do? Sit at home and look at the TV and go ‘gee, I wish I was there’?
“Scotland’s my style of golf, where you don’t have to hit booming drives. It’s more a case of keeping it on the fairway, getting it on the greens and luckily I’m still a good putter.”
Champions Tour golf and his thriving winery – he’s the third generation of his family in that business – keeps him busy.
But he’s keen to add to his host of memories in Scotland.
Memories of the Open and the Old Course
“The Open at Muirfield in 1987 I was the last group with Paul Azinger when Nick Faldo won. I was very young back then – just 26.
“I was in the second last group at Carnoustie in 1999 with Justin Leonard.
“And of course, I played many Opens at St Andrews. I played five Opens there, one Amateur, one Senior Open and at least 10 Dunhills.
“I think I’ve played maybe over 180 rounds of golf on the Old Course at St Andrews – you really can’t beat that.”
The leading Scot at Gleneagles was none other than Colin Montgomerie, who completed a rebound from three-over after nine holes on Thursday to four-under after 36.
Paul Lawrie, suffering from a recurrence of his long-term foot injury, struggled over the final eight holes but managed a par 70 to sit at one-under.
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