Darren Clarke completed a personal grand slam when a closing 67 gave him a share of ninth place in the USPGA Championship at Valhalla yesterday, with a nine-under-par aggregate of 279. It meant he had achieved a top-10 finish in all four major championships and this latest effort was worth $112,166.
He had already tied for second in the British Open in 1997; was tied eighth in the 1998 US Masters and tied 10th in last year's US Open. Even with his own demanding standards, Clarke was pleasantly surprised. "It was totally unexpected," he said. "I didn't really expect much going off the first tee yet I hardly put a foot wrong. The game has me baffled."
As it happened, the Tyroneman had a bogey-free round which was quite a rarity over this treacherous layout. And he missed only two greens in regulation.
Over the four days, Clarke hit a total of 52 fairways out of the 72; hit 48 out of 56 greens in regulation and had a total of 116 putts, 29 per round.
His previous USPGA challenges were at Winged Foot in 1997 and at Medinah last year and he missed the cut in both. "I'm definitely making progress," he said. His birdies were typical Clarke - solid driving followed by beautifully precise iron play. The upshot was a seven-iron to four feet for a birdie at the fifth and an eight iron to a foot for another birdie at the next.
After that, he settled into a productive, solid rhythm, giving himself birdie chances. But he failed to break par again until the 13th where he hit a sandwedge to four feet; an 18 footer found the hole for a birdie at the 15th and he completed the round in style, hitting a nine-iron third shot of 151 yards to within three feet of the pin at the long 18th.
Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington will take a complete break from the game today in the hope of regaining full fitness for the $5 million NEC Invitational, which starts at Firestone on Thursday. It proved to be quite a lucrative outing for the Dubliner 12 months ago when he earned $109,000 for a share of 12th place behind Tiger Woods.
Harrington was clearly concerned yesterday after a final round of 74 gave him a two-over-par aggregate of 290 for a share of 58th place and $10,250. "The stiffness has returned to my neck and I found it impossible to make a proper turn," he said.
In the circumstances, he felt he had done well in this, his first experience of four rounds in the last major championship of the season. His only previous challenge in the USPGA was at Winged Foot in 1997 when he missed the cut.
"Considering I couldn't hit the ball out of my way, my scoring wasn't all that bad," he said. "Obviously it's disappointing that the stiffness should have returned, despite the treatment I've been having and the medication I've taken. But I'm determined to persevere."
He went on: "I feel I'm paying the price for hitting too many shots on the practice ground last night." He spent two hours on intensive work in the hope of capitalising on a third-round 69 which lifted him to a share of 43rd place.
Yesterday's round was a bit of a struggle. A wayward approach at the first and three putts at the third left Harrington two over for the championship at that stage. But he got one back at the vulnerable ninth where a wedge approach was followed by an 18-foot downhill putt for birdie.
Two further bogeys, however, were only partially offset by a birdie at the 18th which he played particularly well. Laying up in two at the 542-yard par five, he pitched beautifully to six feet and then eased the ball into the hole off the left lip.
Indicative of Harrington's swing problems throughout the championship was that he hit only 38 of the 72 greens in regulation. His driving was better, with 45 out of 56 fairways hit, and he needed the blade only 112 times, an average of 28 putts per round.
