SCOTTISH OPEN:Two shots. That is all it took for Darren Clarke to stop the rot and start believing that good times are just around the corner.
The Ryder Cup hero goes into the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond today a lowly 128th in the world, but having just discovered that for three years his clubs had something wrong with them.
"It was my fault because I had not checked them, but I've been putting the wrong shafts in my irons," said the Ulsterman.
"It was just a miscommunication. In America and Europe they have a different measuring system and mine were done in America.
"My driver was going up the middle of the fairways and my irons were going right and left and too high. You would think I would be smart enough to figure it out myself, but I wasn't quite clever enough.
"I had two shots with the new ones when they had been reshafted and the difference was massive.
"It might take me a little bit of time to get used to the timing, because I've been using the wrong ones for so long, but my practising has been great."
For a while it had been difficult for Clarke to see any light at the end of the tunnel once the Ryder Cup emotion was over and he had to cope not only without his wife, Heather, but also with bad golf.
From early February until two weeks ago the 38-year-old missed seven successive cuts and had to withdraw from two events in America and from the Irish Open because of a hamstring injury sustained playing football with his two sons.
A 49th place in the Buick Open in Michigan on his last start would not normally have him leaping with joy, but considering what had come before, it was a breakthrough.
"Hopefully I can build on that and start getting my game back to where it should be," he added.
"It's been a difficult period. My game has been struggling, my boys have been struggling, but things have been turning around a little bit now.
"It seems like I'm getting a bit of semblance in my life again and things are starting to finally get back around to being normal again.
"Consequently I feel a lot happier about what I'm doing. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm feeling a lot better about my game.
"I can't wait to play these two weeks (next week, of course, is the British Open Championship at Carnoustie). I'm almost like a rookie again, I'm so keen to play.
"For some time with my other issues that has not really been on the forefront of my mind, but now I'm mad keen.
"With my lack of form over a period of time, whether my game will be good enough to contend next week I don't know, but I'm certainly looking forward to it.
"It's nice to go in sort of under the radar."
Phil Mickelson will never be able to do that, but nobody quite knows what to expect of the world number three either this week.
Firstly, he has missed the cut in his last two tournaments - the US Open was the first of them - after suffering a wrist injury practising at Oakmont. Then there is no denying that Carnoustie, not Loch Lomond, is his priority - as it is, naturally, for all those who will be going from one event to the other.
Luke Donald's recent wedding on the Greek island of Santorini means he has not played for three weeks, but he has not seen too much evidence of rust in his practising, while Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen have not appeared since the US Open either.
Like Donald and Garcia, world number five Ernie Els is still searching for his first victory of the year, but at least he has to go back only to December for his last success. For Donald it is 16 months, for Garcia 22.
SCOTTISH OPEN:
Venue: Loch Lomond GC,outside Glasgow.
Length: 7,139 yards
Par: 71. There are three par fives, the longest being the 625-yard sixth.
Prizemoney: €4.43 million, with €739,000 going to the winner
Players: 156
Last year's winner: Johan Edfors
On TV: Live on the BBC.
Weather: Not surprisingly, a good chance of rain throughout the weekend, accompanied by moderate winds. Temperatures from 16 to 19 degrees.
