GOLF: Philip Reid talks to the one-time Mount Juliet touring professional: When Darren Clarke was finding his feet as a touring professional, one of the first attachments he picked up in his portfolio was with Mount Juliet.

It was 1991, and it was a baby of a course back then; but, if Clarke has matured as a player, so too has the course. So much so, in fact, that it has reached a standard that seems to have caught Clarke by surprise.

"It's been a long time since I've been back, and they've made huge improvements to the course. It's even better than it was before."

As someone who was in at the start, his praise is the real thing. "They've certainly tightened it, let the rough grow in," admitted Clarke. "But the real difference is in the quality of the greens. They're pure, and they're true. There's certainly going to be a lot of opportunities to make birdies. And, if it comes down to it, then it is always the guy who holes the most putts who wins."

Putting. It has been the Achilles heel for Clarke all summer. He has a garage full of putters, of different sizes and hues. On greens like the ones at Mount Juliet, though, there can be no excuses. It will all come down to a player's rhythm, his tempo. And Clarke, who hasn't played in two weeks, not since securing a top-10 finish in the Air Canada Championship on the US Tour, has put particular emphasis on working with the blade on the short grass in his time away from competitive action.

"I have been working hard on the putting green at home, spending a lot of time there, just using my ruler," said Clarke, of a device aimed at getting the player to putt straight and true. "It certainly feels a lot better, and hopefully I will get my stroke again."

This is a big week for Clarke. Yet, if he had a choice of winning this week or next week at the Ryder Cup, Clarke, after some head scratching, said he would opt for the latter.

"It would probably be as part of a winning Ryder Cup team . . . there are more chances for winning world golf championship events than Ryder Cups," he said, with some logic. "The team element is great. We're pulling for each other as opposed to trying to beat each other."

Clarke, in fact, is the only European player who knows what it feels like to win one of the world championship titles. His win over Tiger Woods in the final of the world matchplay, at La Costa in 2000, gave him a career high.

"I would have hoped that the matchplay win would have been a springboard onto bigger and better things and, unfortunately, that hasn't happened. It's not through lack of effort, it just hasn't materialised.

"I've put a lot of work into trying to figure things out. You get a little too technical when you do that, and it becomes difficult to go out and score as well as you can when you're thinking about technique. I'll keep working, but I'll try to get more into scoring as opposed to thinking about my swing all the time."

Clarke, yesterday, on the eve of play, looked totally relaxed; but, nevertheless, keen to win.

"After the majors," he said, "you have the world golf championships. This is a big tournament, and it's one you want to try and win."

Winning would also help to ram home a point to IMG, who have overlooked him for the Cisco world matchplay at Wentworth next month.

"They should call it the IMG championship, or the Mark McCormack championship. It is certainly not a world championship. I am better placed in the world rankings than five of the players invited to play," said Clarke, who will raise the issue with the European Tour, as the event is sanctioned by them.