It was bloody typical of the so-called British summer. Yesterday, on the eve of the first PGA European Tour event of the season in England, dark clouds hung over the Oxfordshire countryside like a portent of doom and gloom.

And, yet, Darren Clarke, who has endured an even more miserable time than the rain-drenched swallows, was looking for the silver lining and inwardly confident that he has found it in time to offer up a stern defence of his Benson and Hedges International Open title.

"I feel good," stated Clarke, refreshed and relaxed from a three-week break from tournament play, "and I'm back striking the ball well again."

A two-day flying visit to Butch Harmon, coach to Tiger Woods, in Texas two weeks ago confirmed the presence of what he deemed "minor" flaws in his swing, but an even greater reason for his upturn in confidence was the way he played eight rounds of golf in seven days over a number of courses along the north Antrim coast last week. "I was in the 60s, for a change this season," he quipped.

Ominously, though, Clarke's confidence was shared by Colin Montgomerie who, coincidentally, is also returning to competition after a three-week long absence. "I'm rarin' to go," claimed the Scot who, in contrast to Clarke, didn't touch a club for two weeks until playing nine holes last Monday. "I remember last year I shot a 63 in practice with Darren, and he went on to to win the tournament, so I didn't bother playing any practice round with him this year," added Montgomerie.

For Lee Westwood there was to be no silver lining, and the tournament finished before it even started. Dogged by a worrying shoulder injury which will necessitate further medical examination, Westwood played nine holes of the pro-am yesterday (before he was replaced by Padraig Harrington) and, later, decided that he wouldn't be fit enough to play in the tournament. He is due to attend a hospital in Sheffield today for an MRI scan.

"He's obviously feeling a lot of discomfort. When he hit it in the rough in the pro-am he had to play one-handed," said his manager Chubby Chandler. "He comes here to win events like this, not finish 20th. The thing that concerns both of us is that nobody seems to be able to put their finger on what it is. There are big days ahead with the US Open and the British Open and I said to him, `you've also got 15 years ahead of you. You don't want to make a mess of it this week'."

Meanwhile, the back muscle injury that Clarke sustained at the US Masters last month has cleared up completely and the 30-year-old Irishman is happy to finally enter a tournament happy with his game.

"I think I took too much time off over the winter," he conceded. "I put my clubs away in a cupboard for seven or eight weeks and paid the penalty. In retrospect it was a mistake and it won't happen again. My form has been up and down like a yo-yo," said Clarke. More down, in fact, and he has missed more cuts that he has made so far this season.

However, a week at home in Bushmills worked wonders last week. Clarke played eight rounds in seven days over three links courses - Royal Portrush, Ballycastle and Gracehill - and the result is a more confident player. "Well, it is good to be back to a course where I've won. I like this course. It is demanding from tee to green and the rough is penal," he said.

Clarke is one of seven Irish players in an event which has attracted the season's best field thus far. Clarke, Harrington, Paul McGinley, Eamonn Darcy, Des Smyth, Philip Walton and John McHenry are all chasing the top prize of €186,670 (£133,000 sterling) but Smyth, like Westwood, had cause to visit the physiotherapy unit upon arrival to the course yesterday because of a back injury. Fortunately, unlike Westwood, he was considered fit enough to play. "I rested for three days, so hopefully everything is okay," he said.

The race for the title promises to be an intriguing one, and a bit of spice has been added by Nick Faldo's inclusion in a three-ball for the opening two rounds alongside Ryder Cup captain Mark James.

"Every event I play now is committed towards making the Ryder Cup team," said Faldo, adding: "I still feel I can turn things around."

Casting an eye up at the dark clouds overhead, Faldo jokingly wondered whether he had made the right decision to return to the British summer. "The only thing consistent about my game at the moment is its inconsistency," he added. However, he has been working - again - on his swing, trying to "get it a bit flatter going back and a bit steeper coming down. Once I get it right, I'll be alright," he insisted.

Whatever about his current form, Montgomerie believes that a European team without Faldo would be a weaker one. "He is one up on most players when he stands on the first tee. I'd have an 80-per-cent Faldo in my team."

The thing is, however, that these days Faldo isn't even measuring up to that level. And the conditions and the course this week represent a tough challenge. And if Clarke has a confident look about him, it is nothing compared to Montgomerie's.

"I've given everyone enough of a start," said the Scot, who is currently 46th in the money-list. "Now it is time to play catch-up. I've set a target of winning two of the next three tournaments, and I think I'm up to that."