Darren Clarke looks certain to include a stop-off at an old stomping ground en route to a determined attempt to top the European Tour money list. Although he has a long-standing invitation to play in the Sprint International on the US Tour next month, Clarke is most likely to opt instead for the £1.5 million Smurfit European Open at The K Club, as he concentrates on a heavy European schedule in his quest to play catch-up on his friend Lee Westwood, the current leader of the order of merit.
Apart from the large financial cake on offer in Straffan - which will have a significant bearing in the race to be Europe's number one - Clarke, who missed the European Open last season in favour of the World Series in Akron, has another obvious reason to stay close to home. The imminent arrival of a new baby into the Clarke household means that the player isn't keen, at this stage, on undertaking long trips to the United States. His wife, Heather, is due to enter hospital next Monday and, all going well, it means Clarke will be able to play in the US PGA at Sahalee in Seattle in two weeks' time. However, rather than staying on for the Sprint (which is an option Westwood may yet take), the Irishman is expected to return home to play in the European Open on August 20th-23rd at a course where he was once the touring professional.
Clarke's runner-up placing behind Australian Stephen Leaney in the Dutch Open last Sunday has moved him up to fourth place in the money list, £207,042 behind leader Westwood and £48,945 behind second placed Colin Montgomerie who is seeking to top the order of merit for a sixth successive time. However, Westwood misses the Volvo Scandinavian Masters at the European Tour Club in Stockholm this week, which gives Clarke an opportunity to close the gap. "My target this week is to overtake Monty," said Clarke, who is one of eight Irish challengers in the field.
Clarke's schedule for the tail-end of the season is weighted very much in favour of Europe. Two factors - the desire to be near home and the size of the prize money on offer in Straffan, which is equivalent to that at the Sprint on the US Tour - means that the European Open will lead to a busy time, which could include the BMW in Munich the following week, but which definitely features the European Masters in Switzerland, the British Masters in the Forest of Arden, the German Masters in Cologne and, depending on the order of merit situation, the Belgacom Open at Royal Zoute.
Clarke heads off to Sweden in good form for this week's Scandinavian Masters. "He doesn't often come through the field in the final round the way he did last Sunday, and I know he quite enjoyed it," remarked his manager Andrew `Chubby' Chandler yesterday. Clarke is joined in Stockholm by Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington, Philip Walton, Raymond Burns, Eamonn Darcy, Des Smyth and David Higgins.
Interestingly, three of Clarke's countrymen are involved in a battle to join him on the Irish team for the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews on October 8th-11th. McGinley, Harrington and Walton are in a three-way battle for the two remaining places, which will be decided after next week's German Open. With two counting events left, just £29,338 separates the three players and Walton, who'd considered taking a rest this week, has decided to play on in his bid to overtake the men in front.
Elsewhere, Francis Howley is still on the injured list and misses this week's European Challenge Tour Championship in East Sussex National where Peter Lawrie, Sean Quinlivan and Gary Murphy will be among the Irish challengers.
