DARREN CLARKE put himself on the fast track to a Ryder Cup debut when a second round 68 at The Oxfordshire club yesterday, gave him a seven under par platform at the halfway stage of the Benson and Hedges International Open.
The big Ulsterman will start today's third round in company with Ian Woosnam, only two shots behind pace setting New Zealander Greg Turner, whose own 68 kept him clear of Bernhard Langer, Ross McVarlane and Retief Goosen. Clarke is alone in fifth place, just ahead of Woosnam, new course record holder Eduardo Romero, Swede Patrik Sjoland, and fast rising Lee Westwood, a fellow member of Andrew Chandler's ISM group.
Clarke would have been even better placed to strike out for the £116,660 top prize which would take his Ryder Cup points total to over 346,000, and a guaranteed debut at Valderrama, if he had not dropped shots at the last two holes. But it would be churlish to apportion too much blame to the Irishman, who made light of the buffeting wind and showers to force himself among the leading contenders.
Reunited with top caddie Billy Foster after their much publicised split at last year's World Cup, Clarke gathered an eagle and six birdies in his first 14 holes. His only mistake was his eagerness to hit his four iron tee shot at the short fifth when a sudden squall hit the exposed course: "It was the right club. I just hit it at the wrong time," said Clarke as his ball plummeted into the pond. But he followed the double bogey with an immediate birdie from 10 feet, and an eagle three at the seventh where he holed from 39 feet after getting home with a five iron. He reached nine under, with his third homeward birdie at the 14th, but a poor second to the 16th and an indifferent drive at the dangerous 17th which found sand, stopped his momentum. Three putts fro in the front of the last green completed his untidy finish.
Padraig Harrington is also well in the hunt in this first British and Irish tournament of the season, sharing 11th place at four under par. Harrington's 67 was a thoroughly professional performance.
Having made all his five birdies in six holes around the turn, he then relied on his expert short game to hold his four under par position. It did not fail him, for he had 10 single putts In all, his last at the 18th being typical of his determination. He hunkered his approach to the closing hole, but hit a 30 yard bunker recovery to within four feet of the flag, and then rolled in the right to left putt.
However on the previous green he missed a four foot chance for a birdie four that would have helped to avenge the 13 strokes the hole had cost him in the second round last year. Even so he briefly became the fifth player to share the course record, until Argentinian Eduardo Romero came in with a 65 to set a new mark.
Harrington holed from 10 feet at the sixth, and 30 feet at the 10th. His birdie putts at the seventh, ninth, and 11th were all inside a yard. I have been working hard on my short game in recent weeks," he said. Tips from Des Smyth, Tony Johnstone and Mark Roe have helped me sort out my bunker play, and that's pretty good now.
It was also hats off to Dubliner John Murray who will be rubbing shoulders with Seve Ballesteros and company today, after a 69 enabled him to beat the cut in his first European Tour event and move alongside Christy O'Connor Jnr on a two under 142.
Murray, the professional at the Shortlands club, Bromley, has been making a name for himself in PGA South Region events. He won tour proams last year, and was runner up for the Southern Professionals title as well as the Saab London Open last year. He was 20 under par in the latter.
He started his second round by hitting his second shot into the pond at the 10th, but escaped with, a bogey five, and got out in 37. He had four homeward birdies, his longest putts being from 20 feet at the third, and 15 feet at the seventh, and he made sure of his presence for the weekend's distribution of £700,000 prize money by hitting a five iron to six feet to birdie his final hole.
"I am delighted with that score," said the 32 year old, whose only experience of senior tournament golf was to play six events on the 1994 Challenge Tour before he ran out of money.
After his exemplary performance on the first day, O'Connor Jnr came to grief at the short holes, three of which he bogeyed to take 74.
Paul McGinley, who had 71 for 143, and Philip Walton, who followed three outward birdies with an eagle three at the 11th on the way to a 71 for 144, also eased past the cut. That fell at level par, one too low for Eamonn Darcy (72), and two ahead of David Higgins (71) and Raymond Burns (70) despite their improvements. Other nonqualifiers were Ronan Rafferty (75-147) and Des Smyth (75-149).
