Clarke's putting woes continue -DARREN Clarke left Hazeltine early and empty-handed yesterday, which was not the perfect present for his 41st birthday.
“It’s the same old story for me. I play all my good golf in practice on a Tuesday and Wednesday,” lamented the Ulsterman, who missed the cut for an eighth time in 11 appearances in the USPGA.
“This is a tough week for me in a few different ways,” conceded Clarke, referring to the third anniversary during the week of his wife, Heather’s, death from breast cancer.
“But I’m disappointed with the way I scored for the two days . . . I can’t hole a putt, and it becomes a vicious circle. I had my chances and kept missing and missing and missing.
“I played poorly and can have no complaints. If I’m not putting the scores on the board, I can’t contend.”
Clarke is due to defend his Dutch Open title at Zandvoort this week before taking a week off and then resuming play at the European Masters in Switzerland, which will be the first event to count for the European qualifying for next year’s Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales.
If Clarke has his troubles with putter in hand over the past two days, it was nothing compared to the woes that befell one of his playing partners.
Ryan Benzen, a teaching professional at Battle Creek in Washington, suffered the ignominy of a five-putt triple bogey on the 17th.
“It was the original, ‘I’ll finish, I’ll finish, I’ll finish, I’ll mark’. That’s what it was,” said Clarke.
Weekend free for the dating game
ADAM Scott is in danger of becoming famous for whom he dates rather than for his golfing exploits, after missing the cut with rounds of 82 and 79 to make for another free weekend.
Scott has been dating Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic since January which, unfortunately, has coincided with the worst run of his career: the Australian is without a win this year and has missed nine cuts on the US Tour.
At least the golfer seems to have got over his tendency to sustain freak injuries. Last year, he dislocated his knee running in to the beach after a surfing session, and broke a finger after slamming the car door shut on his hand.
Scott ended one relationship yesterday, reportedly deciding to finish his player-coach relationship with Butch Harmon.
McIlroy to pick up new logo
HAVING had his choice in apparel since he turned professional almost two years ago, Rory McIlroy is set to commit to Ashworth. The 20-year-old Ulsterman is due to put pen to paper over the coming days in a deal that will see him join a stable of golfers that includes Sean O’Hair and Fred Couples.
Weather still holding off
AFTER the severe weather interruptions to the US Open at Bethpage, the USPGA has – so far – escaped any intrusion from Mother Nature in the season’s final major. The forecast for today’s third round indicates “partly cloudy and breezy with gusts of up to 25 miles per hour” . . . but the forecast for tomorrow puts the possibility of thunderstorms at 60 per cent.
