On the journey down here from Augusta, Darren Clarke was jolted by a line in a local newspaper describing him as a journeyman professional. "That's not very flattering after an eighth-place finish in the Masters," he said yesterday, while preparing for a debut in the MCI Classic, which starts here at Harbour Town, South Carolina, tomorrow.
"As a current Ryder Cup player, I certainly don't see myself that way," added Clarke. "And judging by the congratulations I've had from players like Justin Leonard, Fuzzy Zoeller and Scott Hoch, it's not the way they see me either. Comments like that make me all the more determined to do well over here."
He has now emerged as the European Tour's leading challenger in this $1.9 million event, after the withdrawal of Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood. Mont gomerie decided to return home from Augusta to be with his wife, Eimear, who is expecting their third child in a few weeks.
There is also an understandable concern for his caddie, Alastair McLean, who flew home on the eve of the Masters because of serious back problems which led to surgery last Friday.
Westwood, who got a late invitation here, was clearly exhausted after shooting a final round of 78 to finish 44th at Augusta National last Sunday. All the excitement of his first US win in the Freeport-McDermott Classic in New Orleans the previous week had clearly taken its toll.
Despite those withdrawals, however, neither Richard Coughlan nor Keith Nolan managed to get into this limited field event, which has a line-up of 120, including the new Masters champion, Mark O'Meara. Coughlan will be in action elsewhere in South Carolina this week, playing for a top prize of $45,000 in the $225,000 Upstate Classic at Verdae Greens GC in Greenville.
South Carolina was also the state to be in last Monday, where the University Club in Blythewood was the scene of tremendous excitement. Tiger Woods was competing in the annual Hootie and the Blowfish Charity ProAm, having opted out of last year's event after his win at Augusta. Predictably, he made this one the most successful ever.
"I'm now in a position to help my friends, and that's nice," he said. The quid pro quo is that the pop group will perform at a charity concert which Woods is to sponsor later this year in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Clarke had quite a dash to arrive in time to play in the pro-am on Monday. but had a more relaxed look at the back nine yesterday. "There are a lot of overhanging trees and it's a course where I will be using the three-wood a lot more than the driver," he said.
"It's imperative to hit the fairways to have any chance of setting up birdie chances. I like the course. The greens are very small and the winds swirl a bit, not unlike Augusta. Essentially, the target must be to keep the ball in play because it's easy to lose concentration."
The 29-year-old looked extremely relaxed in the wake of an extremely impressive Masters performance. "This is the first time in a long time that I've been really pleased with myself," he said. "While we were coming up the 18th on Sunday, Billy (Foster, his caddie), reminded me of all the good players who had missed the cut on their first time in the Masters.
"His contribution was fantastic. Because of the knowledge he had from working there with Seve, we were able to sort out a strategy for playing each hole. And generally, it worked fine."
Apart from prize money of $89,600, which leaves him 93rd in the US Money list, Clarke received a crystal vase for equalling the low round of the day on Saturday, with a 67. And he received two pairs of crystal goblets for his eagles at the 13th and 15th holes in that memorable third round.
The goblets really appealed to him. "Going into the tournament, Monty complained to me that in 22 rounds in the Masters, he hadn't scored an eagle," explained Clarke. "And he still hadn't an eagle on Sunday.
"So I offered to lend him a pair, to put on display in his home. Then I remembered that he had recently been burgled, and I suggested it might be a better idea if he came to my house to view them. His reply would be unprintable."
Ideally, Clarke wants to play all of the leading tournaments here and in Europe next year. It is a schedule that will require some compromises domestically, given that his wife, Heather, is expecting their first child in August. But he believes it can be workable.
"The Augusta experience has definitely made me a better player, certainly where my confidence was concerned," he went on. "I want to build on that, and the obvious way to do it is to continue playing against the best."
He concluded: "After what Lee did in New Orleans, I feel I could win here this week. I now know that I have the game to play really well over here."
