Darren Clarke can't wait to push a tee peg back into the turf at Firestone Country Club at this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The reason is obvious; as one of Padraig Harrington's peers on tour for over a decade, the Dubliner's major win in the British Open has provided inspiration to Clarke who is enduring a dreadfully poor season on tour that has seen him slip to 135th in the world rankings.

And the fact that Clarke is returning to Firestone, the scene of his second World Golf Championship title when he captured this tournament (then called the NEC) in 2003, will, he hopes, assist his attempts to turn the tide on a season that has been a real struggle.

Clarke is one of three Irish players in the field for the Bridgestone, a limited field strokeplay tournament with no cut. His Ryder Cup team-mates Harrington and Paul McGinley are also playing.

What happened at Carnoustie offered the flip sides of the coin in relation to how Harrington and Clarke's seasons are unfolding. While Harrington - now up to sixth in the world - claimed a maiden major, Clarke was forced to watch the final round drama at home on television after missing the cut with a run of three bogeys and a double bogey over the last five holes of his second round.

It was Clarke's sixth missed cut in 11 tournaments on the European Tour this season, where he is currently languishing in 148th spot on the money list. But the missed cut at Carnoustie hurt more than any other. "I was very annoyed, the way I missed the cut. I was livid. I haven't been as angry for a very, very long time and I think my anger was justified. That's just not me, I don't do things like that," he observed of the finishing run of holes that had him throwing away shots like confetti.

He added: "Standing on the 14th tee, if I birdie 14, I'm right back in the tournament . . . and then I end up missing the cut out of the blue. It's just the way things have been going of late and I'll have to keep my head down and battle on. Those last five or six holes at Carnoustie, I don't know what happened.

"Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday there at the Open was as good as I've played or have been playing for a very long time. I'm just not able to do the same thing on the course at the moment."

So, can he learn from Harrington's achievement? "His win is an incentive for me, there's no doubt about that. Padraig has put his head down and worked and worked and worked and worked. I'm delighted for him because he has worked so hard. I'd love to get myself into a similar position and give myself a chance. Padraig played the best by a long way of anybody on Sunday and thoroughly deserved the win. He played fantastic."

For Clarke, the Bridgestone and the US PGA at Southern Hills (which he has received an invite to play from the PGA of America) could define his season. He needs at least one exceptional week at either of the big tournaments to gatecrash the FedEx Cup series in the States, although, given his current lowly position in those standings, it is more likely that he will return to play in Europe for a four-week run starting with the Johnnie Walker championship in Gleneagles and taking him up the Quinn Direct British Masters at the Belfry.

He will be at the Barclays Classic in Westchester next month one way or another, as he has strong links with the title sponsors. "If I don't make the field, I'll be there for corporate engagements," said Clarke.

The first anniversary of Heather Clarke's death is on August 13th, and Clarke sees that date as "a watershed" in the grieving period. "Time is healing . . . I'm doing as well as I can. I'm taking the knocks on the chin at the minute but the one thing I know is that you've got to battle on," said Clarke, who continues to give back to developing the sport and has announced a tie-up between Junior Golf Ireland, which has 127 centres around Ireland, and his Darren Clarke Foundation.

"We're just trying to move the Foundation forward. It's been great to have the Champions weekend and we're trying to expand it. What Rory (McIlroy) did (in winning the silver medal as leading amateur at Carnoustie) was great and there are a few more kids coming through," said Clarke. One of the new initiatives to the programme is to bring a Pee-Wee type concept to include players from as young as six.