Darren Clarke put an end to a dismal performance in front of home crowds in the WGC - American Express Championship at Mount Juliet today, but the Ryder Cup star remains upbeat and confident that his game will return in time to compete against the Americans next week.
Clarke closed with a two-over par 74, and a round where he claimed to have no luck, to finish on seven-over 295. He is likely to finish second last with little-known Japanese player Kenichi Kuboya the only other player with a worse aggregate.
"I guess my handicap has just gone up again," quipped Clarke when making his way to the recorders hut behind the 18th. "Today was the same story, I couldn't make birdies after giving myself chances, it's frustrating because I'm not hitting the ball badly, I'm just not scoring."
A large of slice of bad luck doesn't help matters either when the chips are down. "Take the 14th (par three) for example. I hit a nice shot, it went just long and instead of a short pitch back it hit a TV cable bounced another 30 feet," explained a bemused Clarke.
"My plan was to work hard this week, and obviously score better, then take a rest before the Ryder Cup. There's not a lot of work to be done. Hopefully playing badly, as I did here, won't make a difference next week. Anyway it's totally different in matchplay," said Clarke who confirmed the team spirit in the European camp is fantastic.
"The team spirit is great. Every player pulls for each other," was his response after it was suggested this cohesion amongst the players is like a 13th man. And of the likelihood of him playing all five games, Clarke was typically coy but did say Sam Torrance has already penciled in his pairings.
"I would like to play all five games if Sam wants me to," enthused Clarke, "but I can't say who or when I'm playing, nothing is set in stone yet." And of Europe's chances of winning, coming in as the underdogs, Clarke concluded by saying: "We're always the underdogs, aren't we. But yes, It would be nice to be part of a winning team come Sunday night."