Maybe, just maybe, this sartorial elegance kick has got to Darren Clarke.Just a little bit. On Sunday, back in the house he had rented in the up-market housing development in Isleworth, where Tiger Woods was among his neighbours, he was cutting a tag from a new item of clothing when the knife slipped and resulted in him gashing the tip of his left thumb.

Yesterday, as the fashion-conscious among us tend to do, he sported a turquoise plaster over the cut that just happened to match the colour of his shirt.

There's no doubt about it, this new slim-line Clarke - who has his own Italian tailor at home in London - is very much a new man!

To match his new fashion look, the 35-year-old from Tyrone has also adopted a new, wisecracking demeanour. So it was that he was able to lead the jokes about the self-inflicted damage to his finger.

Behind all the banter, though, was more serious business. It was here a year ago in a weather-interrupted Masters that Clarke took the first-round lead but discovered that his body wasn't physically equipped for the demands of squeezing 72 holes into three days.

He eventually slipped from first-round leader back to tied-28th. He simply hadn't been fit enough for the demands of the weekend.

The consequence of this realisation was that Clarke undertook physical and dietary regimes aimed at turning him into a player capable of realising his potential, to win majors. These days, Clarke's body frame has some three stone in weight less to carry around - or, as he put it, "I don't have three cases of beer around my waist any more" - brought about by a fitness schedule that includes two-hour gym sessions six days a week.

Not only that, but his diet has seen him remove beer from his lifestyle and replace it with "the odd white spirit" and a generally healthier eating regime.

"After playing here last year, I knew I had to change. If you look at all of the guys on top of the world ranking, they are all very fit and that is something that eventually got into my head. It takes a lot to push me sometimes, and this was reality, something I had to do, to try and improve."

So far this season, however, Clarke's form has been a mixed bag, combining brilliance with mediocrity: three top-10 finishes on the US Tour alongside three missed cuts. Still, he has accumulated $1.14 million in prize money and slotted in at number 11 in the US money list (where he is a full member), so he is doing more right than wrong.

First things first, though. The cut, although irksome, is not of any concern to Clarke as he heads into the first major of the season. Iffy plaster aside, it doesn't deter a swing which he admits he has had to alter to compensate for the slimmer figure. What's different? Balance, feel?

"A bit of everything. Balance is one, obviously, because there isn't three cases of beer in front of me when I'm swinging . . . but I was surprised at how great the change in feel was.

"I think I'm okay where I'm at, and hopefully this is where I'm going to stay, at this size, but a few people have gone too far and it has affected their game. I think some of my play early this year was because of the change in shape and adapting to the swing. But I'm starting to feel more comfortable again," he insisted.

In last year's first round, which was played on a Friday after rain washed out any play on the Thursday, Clarke went around the Augusta National course in a mere 66 strokes.

Not only has Clarke changed in the interim, so has the course. Instead of being a long, hard slog, it is playing - at least in practice in recent days and barring any rain is also likely to do so in the tournament - firm and fast this time round.

"It's hugely different," conceded Clarke, of the change in conditions from 12 months ago. "There's some places you hit it now and it is just impossible to get close to the flag . . . the greens are so difficult.

"I know these past few years, the winners don't usually have that many three-putts but I think this year everybody is going to have them. It's going to be a very, very difficult challenge, a lot of grinding this week, a lot of people who will just have to keep going to make the best out of their round."

Clarke's last tournament outing came in the Players' - although he did play in that made-for-TV match in Lake Nona, representing Isleworth, where he is considering buying a property - and he left Sawgrass knowing there were areas of his game that needed attending to.

"I worked very hard at Isleworth, spent a lot of time hitting balls, chipping and putting. I worked hard on the trying to keep my height on the swing. I was losing my height (at Sawgrass) and consequently hitting a lot of shots heavy. It was something I had to address, and I did. I worked very hard last week."

Playing his way into contention, and more, would be the perfect reward for all the hours spent on treadmills, bicycles and medicine balls in gyms around the globe since he committed to the fitness regime that has transformed his appearance.