Darren Clarke was at Merion last Monday, retracing the steps of the great Ben Hogan. It was the Tyroneman's way of burying frustrating memories of a missed cut at the USPGA Championship and getting his focus in order for a third challenge in the NEC Invitational.
As befitting a player who enjoys much of his social golf at Royal Portrush, Clarke has a keen sense of golfing history. So he was aware of how Hogan had made a miraculous return after near-fatal injuries in a car crash, to capture the US Open at Merion in 1950.
"I saw where he sank that enormous putt on the 17th - it must have been close to 50 feet," he said. "And I saw where he played a one-iron second to the 18th, from a downhill lie."
And how did Clarke play that finishing hole? "I got home with a drive and nine iron," he replied, by way of illustrating the enormous improvements in equipment during the last 51 years.
Prior to Merion, he was in Philadelphia on Sunday, playing the new Pine Hill course, designed by Tom Fazio and located close to Pine Valley, which Clarke rates as the best course in the world. "I loved both courses," he said.
"Fazio has done some beautiful bunkering at Pine Hill which, incidentally, looks as if it has been there forever. And Merion was simply wonderful in every respect."
It seemed richly ironic that despite the dramatic changes in equipment, Clarke's first objective here was to find an implement that could get the ball into the hole. Sadly, such developments as peripheral weighting and co-efficients of restoration don't seem to help in coaxing a little sphere with a diameter of 1.68 inches, into an apparently generous receptacle, 4.25 inches across.
"I drove poorly in Atlanta on Thursday, when I shot a first-round 73 and my putting was off when I shot 69 the following day," he said. Then, while trying out a third successive putter on the practice green here yesterday, he added: "When I get this sorted out, my game will be fine."
As leader of the European Ryder Cup table, Clarke has the luxury of concentrating exclusively on winning the tournament.
Though he likes Firestone as a course, he has not played particularly well here. A final round of 75 pushed him out to a share of 36th place on his debut in 1999 and three successive 71s after an opening 66, brought a share of 17th place last year and $83,000.
Still, with three tournament victories on three different continents - the Dimension Data in South Africa, the Chunichi Crowns in Japan and the Smurfit European Open at The K Club - to his credit already this season, Clarke is looking for a fourth. "I'm now at a stage where I can expect to win events like this," he said.
From Firestone, he will be heading on a week's family holiday in Portugal.
