European Tour / Madrid Open: Darren Clarke, whose playing schedule this year has been greatly affected by his wife Heather's battle with cancer, is not too concerned if he loses his PGA Tour card in the United States.
The 37-year-old Northern Irishman, who had to withdraw from last week's WGC-American Express Championship in San Francisco to be with his wife, is now unable to commit to the mandatory 15 events for the US season.
Clarke, in the field for the Madrid Open starting today, was also forced to pull out of this week's Michelin Championship in Las Vegas.
"I phoned (PGA Tour commissioner) Tim Finchem but, at the end of the day, they've got a set of rules and I don't expect them to break them or bend them for me," he told a news conference at the Club de Campo yesterday.
"If it means I'm no longer a member, so be it.
"I can play almost a normal schedule because of my world ranking and, as long as things at home are okay, then I will be doing so," added the world number 18.
"I said that mine are slightly different circumstances, because I have tried to fulfil my commitments but, if I don't get a card, I won't bother." Clarke has played 13 events on this season's PGA Tour, plus a further seven on the European Tour.
His on-off season, in which he has twice had to opt out of tournament golf for a month to be with his sick wife, has provided him with one unexpected bonus, however.
"Yes, it's a worry wondering how Heather is all the time but, because I've played so infrequently of late, every time I come out to play, I almost feel like a rookie I'm so keen to get out there," he said.
However, the occasionally volatile Clarke concedes he has had trouble keeping his temperament in check.
"It's difficult to keep control of my attitude at times," he said.
Clarke leads a trio of Irish players including Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy.
Seve Ballesteros makes his return to golf after a two-year absence this week, still dreaming that he can add to his 87 career titles.
The 48-year-old Spaniard last played a strokeplay event in this tournament in 2003, missing the cut with rounds of 76 and 74 at the Club de Campo course.
His last official tournament was the 2003 Seve Trophy and the five-times major champion and six-times European number one's last victory came in the 1995 Spanish Open at Club de Campo.
Ballesteros's career has nose-dived since and he does not now have a world ranking, largely due to injury but also because of swing problems.
"The first two rounds will have to be tactical," Ballesteros said yesterday.
"I will try to use my strength, which is my short-game. I'm looking at top-10, but why not a win? It's free to dream. The world is full of surprises and golf is a surprising game."
Ballesteros was reported to be bed-ridden last year and, suffering with severe arthritis in his back, apparently fearful he would never play again.
He said, however, that his injury had never been that serious, adding that he was ready to capture the headlines again for the right reasons.
"The injury was never that bad, there was some lack of mobility and pain but I was walking and doing normal things," he said. "I only ever had one month without hitting balls.
"I never worried whether I would play again, not from inside anyway, only from the mouth. But I am happy just to be here." Ballesteros's main concern is whether he can concentrate for long enough to survive.
"The only thing that really worries me is, when you don't play for nearly two years, it is hard to focus and difficult to have the competitive instinct," he said.
Ballesteros intends to play at least 15 events next season and several before the US Masters in April, and European order of merit leader Colin Montgomerie said he hoped his former Ryder Cup team-mate would complete four rounds in Madrid.
Montgomerie, now $150,000 ahead of Michael Campbell on top of the order of merit, is looking to increase his lead and give the US Open champion from New Zealand a tough task in the final showdown at the Volvo Masters later this month.
(at Club de Campo)
First round tee-times
(British unless stated, all times local: +1 hour from BST)
FIRST TEE:
09:00: Anthony Wall, Costantino Rocca (Ita), Miguel Angel Martin (Spa) 09:10: Andrew Marshall, Marcus Fraser (Aus), Christopher Hanell (Swe) 09:20: Andrew Oldcorn, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 09:30: Malcolm MacKenzie, Mark Roe, Markus Brier (Aut) 09:40: David Park, Simon Dyson, Damien McGrane (Ire) 09:50: Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Johan Skold (Swe), Raul Ballesteros (Spa) 10:00: Francesco Molinari (Ita), Neil Cheetham, Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa) 10:10: Phillipp Archer, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 10:20: Leif Westerberg (Swe), Carlos De Corral (Spa), Oliver Wilson 10:30: Alvaro Salto (Spa), Juan Carlos Pinero (Spa), Gordon Brand Jnr 13:10: Scott Drummond, Paul Broadhurst, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 13:20: Stephen Gallacher, Steve Webster, David Lynn 13:30: Colin Montgomerie, Simon Khan, IanI Woosnam 13:40: Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Anders Hansen (Den), Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 13:50: Christian Cevaer (Fra), John Bickerton, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 14:00: David Carter, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Philip Golding 14:10: Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), GregoryG Havret (Fra), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 14:20: David Drysdale, Johan Axgren (Swe), Rolf Muntz (Ned) 14:30: Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Garry Houston 14:40: Juan Vizcaya (Spa), Ivo Giner (Spa), Ben Mason.
10TH TEE:
09:00: Sandy Lyle, Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Jamie Donaldson 09:10: Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Darren Clarke (NIre) 09:20: Robert Karlsson (Swe), Graeme Storm, Soren Hansen (Den) 09:30: Peter Hedblom (Swe), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 09:40: Paul Lawrie, Seve Ballesteros (Spa), Brett Rumford (Aus) 09:50: Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Miles Tunnicliff, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 10:00: Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Marcel Siem (Ger), Mark Foster 10:10: (x) Jorge Mazario (Spa), Matthew King (Aus), Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 10:20: Stuart Little, Simon Wakefield, Richard Finch 10:30: Ian Garbutt, Diego Borrego (Spa), Andrew Coltart 13:10: Gary Murphy (Ire), Alastair Forsyth, Robert Coles 13:20: Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), James Kingston (Rsa), Jonathan Lomas 13:30: Richard Bland, Fernando Roca (Spa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 13:40: Martin Maritz (Rsa), Marten Olander (Swe), Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 13:50: Fredrik Henge (Swe), Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Wade Ormsby (Aus) 14:00: Brad Kennedy (Aus), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Steven O'Hara 14:10: Peter Fowler (Aus), Santiago Luna (Spa), Raymond Russell 14:20: Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Gary Emerson, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 14:30: Stuart Manley, Daniel Gallardo (Spa), Lee Slattery 14:40: (x) Pedro Oriol (Spa), Marc Cayeux (Zim), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa).
