Darren Clarke fends off Padraig Harrington after rain delay to win Senior Open at Gleneagles
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Updated 24/07/2022 at 21:05 GMT
The Senior Open was concluded in near-darkness, following a rain delay of three hours. Following the return to the King's Course at Gleneagles, Darren Clarke showed the class of a major champion to hold his nerve and clinch the title with a brilliant birdie on the 18th hole to deny Padraig Harrington by one shot.
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Darren Clarke held firm in difficult conditions to join some elite company with a win in the Senior Open at Gleneagles.
The Northern Irishman played the best golf all week, but gave the rest of the field a chance due to a cold putter.
That remained the case on Sunday, but following a rain delay late in the afternoon, he dug in and made a birdie on 18 to become only the fourth man after Gary Player, Bob Charles and Tom Watson to win both The Open and Senior Open.
Clarke was largely excellent from tee to green on Sunday, as was the case on Saturday, but he made no putts on the outward nine.
A rare error on 10, a duck-hook from the fairway on the par five into the thick rough, led to a first bogey of the round and dropped him back into a share of the lead alongside Paul Broadhurst, Mauricio Molina and Doug Barron.
A sign of class is how players bounce back from adversity, and Clarke showed his enduring quality remains as he made a birdie on 12 to get back in front.
The horn went on 14, as play was stopped due to a storm which left standing water on the greens.
Final Round Leaderboard
- 1. Darren Clarke, 10-under
- 2. Padraig Harrington, nine-under
- T3. Mauricio Molina, eight-under
- T3. Doug Barron, eight-under
- T3. Ernie Els, eight-under
- T3. Thongchai Jaidee, eight-under
- T3. Steven Alker, eight-under
- T3. Paul Broadhurst, eight-under
- 9. Colin Montgomerie, seven-under
It led to a delay of over two hours before the players were allowed back on the course.
Clarke returned to see Padraig Harrington come out like an express train and the Irishman birdied 14, 15, 17 and 18 to post the clubhouse lead at nine-under.
A birdie and three pars, any birdie and three pars, was Clarke’s target on the final four holes.
Pars on 15, 16 and 17 left him with the task of a birdie on the par-five 18th to clinch the title.
After finding the fairway off the tee, Clarke came up short of the green with his second. He had the option of pitching or putting. He opted for the latter, but from a huge distance it did not look an easy task on slow greens.
But he judged it to perfection, as his first putt came to rest within two feet of the hole.
He rolled in the birdie for the win and as the ball dropped into the cup, a fist pump showed what it meant.
Winning the Senior Open 11 years on from his Open success at Royal St George's fulfilled a dream for Clarke.
"To win the tournament I always wanted to win a as kid, the Open Championship and then to win this one," Clarke said." From when I went on the Senior Tour this is what I wanted to win.
"I'm very fortunate to do it. Fulfilling your dreams is a very lucky thing and I’ve been able to do it a few times in my career.”
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