Tournament round-up:The body of opinion that insists Darren Clarke is too good a player to be languishing at 195th in the world rankings - in other words, virtually everyone involved in professional golf - was reinforced yesterday when the Irishman went round the Old Course in 66 shots, six under par, to move into contention after two rounds of the Dunhill Links Championship.
On a sun-baked day, Clarke's round was one shot more than the best of the day at the home of the game, Trevor Immelman's 65. But it marked definite progress for a player who has endured a torrid time since returning to the game after the death of his wife over a year ago.
Since then he has missed 11 cuts in 22 events around the world, dropped to 133rd in the European Tour order of merit and has a stroke average for the year of 72.96 - an unthinkable record for a man judged by many to be the most naturally gifted player of his generation. His plight has prompted offers of help from every quarter.
The latest contributions have come from Bob Torrance, coach to Padraig Harrington, and Ernie Els, who played the first two rounds of this event with the Dungannon man. Whatever they said, it worked.
"Bob coached me for a long time when I was young," said Clarke. "He saw me on the range and noticed my swing was too narrow. I knew that has been the problem but Bob asked me if I'd mind him pointing it out and I said no.
"It was good of him. I made a couple of changes with Ernie after he gave me some tips on the range too the previous night and it seems to be working at the moment."
"Darren's a good friend of mine and has been for a long time," Els said. "I've struggled, we have all struggled. He seems like he really wants to play well again, and when you know a guy for a long time you are sometimes able to spot something that's a little different from normal. And I mentioned something to him and he played great today."
The South African did not play badly himself, signing for a five-under 67 to add to his 67 at Carnoustie on Thursday. That left him one shot behind the leaders, a group that included the Australian Peter O'Malley, whose 63 at Carnoustie equalled the course record held by, among others, Steve Stricker and Richard Green.
Scotland agrees with O'Malley. He won the 1992 Scottish Open at Gleneagles, shooting 62 in the final round to pip Colin Montgomerie, and managed another 62 at Loch Lomond three years ago.
"It would have been nice to do it again but I'm not complaining about a 63," he said.
If the Australian's attitude towards missing out on a piece of history sounded healthily phlegmatic, it was perfectly understandable. "I was on the road heading to the course when I heard something rattling in the boot of the car. I knew then I had forgotten my clubs," he said.
Fortunately the landlady at the guest house where O'Malley is staying came to the rescue. After that, though, it was all his own brilliant work.
Harrington, the winner of the Dunhill Links title both last year and in 2002, lifted himself into contention again at St Andrews with a six-under 66 for an eight-under 136. That left him in a tie for 12th.
Three other Irishmen joined Clarke on six under par. Rory McIlroy continued his fine start to his professional career with a 67 at St Andrews, while at Kingsbarns Graeme McDowell added a 68 to be on that mark, while Gary Murphy joined him with a 67.
