Darren Christopher Clarke, OBE (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the European Tour and has previously played on the PGA Tour. He has won 22 tournaments worldwide on a number of golf's main tours including the European Tour, the PGA Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the Japan Golf Tour. His most notable win came at Royal St George's where he won the 2011 Open Championship, his first major win after more than 20 years and 54 attempts. Clarke has also won two World Golf Championship events, most notably the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship where he squared off with, and defeated, Tiger Woods. These victories came when Clarke enjoyed his most prominent spell as a golfer – he was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 43 weeks between 2000 and 2002.[2] His highest finish on the European Tour money list is second, which he achieved in 1998, 2000 and 2003. Clarke is currently ranked as the sixth highest career money winner on the European Tour.[3]
Clarke has represented Ireland as both an amateur and as a professional, notably at the World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cup, and was a member of five consecutive European Ryder Cup teams between 1997 to 2006.
Clarke's victory at the 2011 Open Championship meant he became the third major winner from Northern Ireland in 13 months, following Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy's 2010 and 2011 victories in the U.S. Open, prompting McIlroy to quip that Northern Ireland was the 'Golf Capital of the World'.[4]
Clarke was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and in 1987 he played collegiate golf at Wake Forest University in the United States. He was a junior member of Dungannon Golf Club, whose junior section also included three others who are current PGA Golf Professionals: Alistair Cardwell, Barry Hamill and Gary Chambers. Clarke represented his school, Royal School Dungannon, together with Cardwell and Chambers.
Clarke turned professional in 1990 and played his first full season on the European Tour in 1991. He contested in his first major championship at the 1991 Open Championship, making the cut before finishing in a tie for 64th place. In 1992 Clarke had a solid season on the European Tour, finishing 41st in overall Order of Merit, in doing so achieveing his highest finish of his career at the time with a second place finish at the Honda Open. He finished three strokes behind champion Bernhard Langer.
Clarke's real breakthrough year was in 1993 when he won his maiden European Tour event and played his way to 8th position on the Order of Merit. After a relatively solid but unspectacular first half of the season, Clarke came alive during the August–September stretch achieving four top-10 finishes in four consecutive tournaments. More was to come when in October 1993, he won his maiden European Tour event at the Alfred Dunhill Open in Belgium. Clarke had the lead after 54 holes and held off the challenge of Englishman Nick Faldo and the charging Vijay Singh, who shot a final round 64, to prevail by two strokes. A month later Clarke very nearly won his second title at the European Tour's season ending Volvo Masters, however he was pipped to the title by Colin Montgomerie who finished one stroke clear. Overall for the season Clarke made 24 out of 30 cuts and finished in the top-10 on seven occasions.
The follow up year in 1994 for Clarke was another solid season on the tour, making 17 of 21 cuts and finishing 37th on the Order of Merit list. Clarke also played in his first U.S. Open although he missed the cut and had his highest finish, at the time, in The Open Championship with a tie for 38th place. In 1995 Clarke had better success, with seven top-10s in 27 events, most notably at the Portuguese Open where he finished second after losing a sudden death playoff to Adam Hunter on the first extra hole, despite having the joint 54 hole lead. Clarke ended the year 14th on the Order of Merit.
In 1996, Clarke won his second European Tour title at the Linde German Masters by one stroke, shooting a final round 63 to finish 24 under par and ahead of Englishman Mike Davis. Clarke also recorded his best finish in a major, at that current time, with a tie for 11th place at The Open Championship in 1996. He also equaled his best finish on the Order of Merit, placing in 8th for the season. In 1997, Clarke finished second at the European Tour's flagship event, the Volvo PGA Championship, two strokes behind Ian Woosnam having initially held the joint lead after round one. Then in July 1997, Clarke was in position to win his first major championship at the 1997 Open Championship. Clarke held the lead with American Jim Furyk after the first round and then pulled two strokes clear of the field after a 66 in the second round, but a third round 71 put him two strokes behind leader Jesper Parnevik going into the final day. However the winner was not to come from the final pairing, as Justin Leonard came storming through the pack with a 65 to beat both Clarke and Parnevik by three strokes. Clarke ended the season 4th on the Order of Merit.
In 1998, Clarke made his first appearances at two of the biggest golf events worldwide. He missed the cut at the first attempt at The Players Championship, but his first visit to Augusta National was much more successful, shooting 67–69 on the weekend to finish in a tie for 8th at the Masters Tournament. This remains his highest ever finish at the Masters to date. In May 1998, Clarke won his third career event on the European Tour at the Benson & Hedges International Open by three strokes from Santiago Luna. He then had three more second place finishes during the season before winning the season ending Volvo Masters, his fourth career victory, taking Clarke to 2nd place on the final Order of Merit standings behind Colin Montgomerie. Clarke only missed one cut all year, at the Murphy's Irish Open. In 1999, Clarke captured his fifth European Tour win at the Compass Group English Open, finished two strokes ahead of John Bickerton. He also achieved his highest ever placing at the U.S Open in this year when he finished in a tie for 10th.
Clarke's worldwide breakthrough came in 2000 when he won his first World Golf Championship event defeating Tiger Woods in the final 4&3 at the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa. This was Clarke's biggest victory of his career so far as he netted the $1 million first prize. Clarke had a difficult route through the championship but defeated a host of big name players: Paul Azinger, Mark O'Meara, Thomas Bjørn, Hal Sutton and David Duval before taking on Woods in the final.[5] Clarke's fine year continued when he placed tied second in the Volvo PGA Championship and followed it up the week after with his seventh European Tour win at the Compass Group English Open ahead of Michael Campbell and Mark James. Clarke also recorded his best finish at the PGA Championship with a tie for 9th place. He also had three second place finishes in the 2000 season, which included 11 top-10 finishes, 2nd for the second time in his career on the Order of Merit and it was his highest ever season in terms of prize money. Clarke earned over €2.7 million for the year.
The 2001 season saw Clarke finish one place lower on the Order of Merit at 3rd, although he did manage some notable results on tour during this season. Clarke added to his list of European Tour wins at the Smurfit European Open when he won by three strokes at The K Club. A couple weeks later, Clarke produced another fine performance at The Open Championship finishing in a tie for third, four strokes behind the eventual winner David Duval. He then had another notable third place finish at the WGC-NEC Invitational, earning in excess of €400,000. In 2002, Clarke played on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour. In the build up to the Masters, Clarke played the Shell Houston Open and finished second behind runaway winner Vijay Singh. He then played the summer on the European Tour and won his ninth career title at the Compass Group English Open, this was his third win at this event and became the first man to win the tournament three times. In 2003, Clarke had another good run at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, however his run was halted at the quarter final stage this time when he lost 2up to Peter Lonard. He did not have to wait much longer for more WGC success though, when he won his second WGC event at the WGC-NEC Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.[6] He finished four strokes ahead of Jonathan Kaye. This put Clarke as only the second player to have won more than one WGC event, the other was Tiger Woods. Clarke's run of success throughout 2001–2003 saw him miss only three cuts on the European Tour in three years and place for the third time in his career at 2nd on the European Order of Merit.
Clarke continued his run of good form at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2004, when he finished third. He lost to Davis Love III in the semi final on the 21st hole, but beat Stephen Leaney 2-up in the resulting 3rd place playoff match. He also had a good finish at the WGC-American Express Championship, finishing in a tie for 4th place. Despite winning over $2 million in prize money Clarke did not win an event during the 2004 season on either tour and this was the first time this had happened since 1997, seven years ago.
Clarke played the 2005 season half and half between the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He enjoyed a solid season with lots of top ten finishes but could not climb the final hurdle of winning an event on either. The highlights of his year were two second place finishes at the Barclays Scottish Open in Europe and the MCI Heritage in the States. With Clarke playing less and less on the European Tour he only finished 20th on the Order of Merit compared to his previous success in this category. In 2006, Clarke's form slumped even more. He only managed to record four top ten placings all season and finished the year way down in 43rd on the Order of Merit. However he did contribute to the European Ryder Cup win in 2006 after the death of his wife, Heather. Clarke was one of Ian Woosnam's two wild card picks and he earned three points on the way to victory for Europe. The 2007 season was Clarke's worst of his career. He did not record any 10 finishes, withdrew from a number of events in the year and finished 143rd on the Order of Merit list.
Clarke ended his winless streak in April 2008 when he won the BMW Asian Open in an emotional victory after a birdie on the 72nd hole to see off Robert-Jan Derksen by one stroke. This was Clarke's first win in almost five years and his 11th of his career. The win broke the shackles from the slump in form he gone through in the previous years and his 12th victory was not far around the corner. Clarke won again in the Netherlands at the KLM Open finishing the tournament four ahead of another Irishman Paul McGinley. Clarke ended his comeback year 13th in the Order of Merit Standings, however he missed out on a place in Nick Faldo's Ryder Cup team, the first time Clarke had done so in over 10 years.
The 2009 and 2010 seasons were steady in progress for Clarke as he began to rebuild his form following the successful 2008 season. He only managed to record three top-10 finishes during the whole of 2009, most notably tying for 5th in the defence of his KLM Open title in Holland. Clarke finished 61st in the Race to Dubai Standings and missed out a place in the season ending finale narrowly by finishing outside the top 60. In 2010, however he did make into the Dubai Finals after finishing 30th at the end of the year. He was aided by two second place finishes throughout the season at the Joburg Open behind winner Charl Schwartzel and then at the Barclays Scottish Open ending up three strokes behind Edoardo Molinari.
In 2011, Clarke won his first European Tour title since August 2008 with a three-stroke victory over Chris Wood and David Lynn in the Iberdrola Open.[7][8] After finishing tied for third in the 2001 Open Championship, Clarke did not make the Top 10 of any major, until he won his first major championship at the 2011 Open at the age of 42 – his 20th attempt at winning the Claret Jug.[9][10]
Clarke dedicated his victory to his two children and late wife Heather, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2006: "In terms of what's going through my heart, there's obviously somebody who is watching from up above there, and I know she'd be very proud of me. But I think she'd be more proud of my two boys and them at home watching more than anything else. It's been a long journey to get here".[11][12]
With Clarke's triumph at Royal St George's, it was the first time since 1910 where one country (other than the United States) had different golfers win consecutive majors.[13] Rory McIlroy, also of Northern Ireland, captured the 2011 U.S. Open title one month earlier in Bethesda, Maryland. In his first major championship since winning the Open Championship, Clarke carded +14 (78,76) to miss the cut at the 2011 PGA Championship.
Clarke has represented Ireland as both an amateur and as a professional, most notably at the World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cup. He was a member of five consecutive European Ryder Cup teams in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2006, winning on four occasions and was also appointed a non-playing vice captain by Colin Montgomerie in 2010.
Clarke's most notable appearance at the Ryder Cup was in 2006, six weeks after the death of his wife Heather.[14] Heather had loved the Ryder Cup and encouraged Darren to compete in it, so he made himself available for selection.[15] European captain Ian Woosnam chose Clarke as one of his two wild cards, and he contributed three points from three matches to Europe's victory, and was embraced by members of the European and U.S. teams after he finished the tournament.[14]
Clarke met his wife Heather in a nightclub in Portrush, County Antrim, and they married in March 1996.[15] The couple had two sons, Tyrone (born 1998) and Conor (born 2001), and the family lived at Sunningdale, Berkshire, UK. In 2005 and 2006 he missed several tournaments to care for his wife, who had been diagnosed with both primary breast cancer in December 2001, then, in 2004, with secondary breast cancer.[15] Heather Clarke died on Sunday 13 August 2006 at 39 years of age, in the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.[15]
Clarke's friend Paul McGinley immediately announced his own withdrawal from the PGA Championship starting in Medinah, Illinois. In a statement McGinley said, "Our two families are very much intertwined, obviously me and Darren, but Heather and (McGinley's wife) Ali were the best of friends and our kids are in the same class at school. So it is a tough time for us all".[16]
Following Clarke's performance at the 2006 Ryder Cup, six weeks after his wife had died, he was the favourite to win the 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, but was runner-up to Zara Phillips. He had previously stated he did not want to win with a sympathy vote after his wife's death.[17]
Clarke and his sons moved back to Northern Ireland, making their home in Portrush. Clarke and former Miss Northern Ireland Alison Campbell married on 11 April 2012.
On 6 April 2011, Clarke was photographed by Kevin Abosch for The Face of Ireland project.[18][19]
Clarke is a supporter of Liverpool FC.[20]
Clarke was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to golf.[21][22]
- 1989 East of Ireland Championship
- 1990 Spanish Amateur Open Championship, Irish Amateur Championship, South of Ireland Championship
| Legend |
| Major championships (1) |
| World Golf Championships (2) |
| Other European Tour (11) |
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European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| Legend |
| Major championships (1) |
| World Golf Championships (2) |
| Other PGA Tour (0) |
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| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Winning score |
Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
| 1 |
14 Sep 2003 |
Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters[23] |
-11 (72–66–65–70=273) |
2 strokes |
 Stuart Little |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
- Tournaments played: 56
- Wins: 1
- 2nd: 1
- 3rd: 1
- Top 10s: 7
- Top 25s: 16
- Missed cuts: 21
- Most consecutive cuts made: 7
1Cancelled due to terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
- Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1997 (winners), 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners), 2010 (non-playing vice-captain, winners)
- Record: 20 matches, 11.5 points (58% Point Percentage)
- All Formats (W-L-H): 10–7–3 = 11.5pts
- Singles: 1–2–2 = 2pts
- Foursomes: 3–3–0 = 3pts
- Fourballs: 6–2–1 = 6.5pts
- Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Ireland): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
- World Cup (representing Ireland): 1994, 1995, 1996
- Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winners), 2011 (winners)
- Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2007 (winners)
- 1993 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
- 1997 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
- 1998 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
- 2000 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
- 2003 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
- 2004 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award (shared with Pádraig Harrington and Paul McGinley)
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- 1860 Willie Park, Sr.
- 1861 Tom Morris, Sr.
- 1862 Tom Morris, Sr.
- 1863 Willie Park, Sr.
- 1864 Tom Morris, Sr.
- 1865 Andrew Strath
- 1866 Willie Park, Sr.
- 1867 Tom Morris, Sr.
- 1868 Tom Morris, Jr.
- 1869 Tom Morris, Jr.
- 1870 Tom Morris, Jr.
- 1871 No championship
- 1872 Tom Morris, Jr.
- 1873 Tom Kidd
- 1874 Mungo Park
- 1875 Willie Park, Sr.
- 1876 Bob Martin
- 1877 Jamie Anderson
- 1878 Jamie Anderson
- 1879 Jamie Anderson
- 1880 Bob Ferguson
- 1881 Bob Ferguson
- 1882 Bob Ferguson
- 1883 Willie Fernie†
- 1884 Jack Simpson
- 1885 Bob Martin
- 1886 David Brown
- 1887 Willie Park, Jr.
- 1888 Jack Burns
- 1889 Willie Park, Jr.†
- 1890 John Ball#
- 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy
- 1892 Harold Hilton#
- 1893 William Auchterlonie
- 1894 John Henry Taylor
- 1895 John Henry Taylor
- 1896 Harry Vardon
- 1897 Harold Hilton#
- 1898 Harry Vardon
- 1899 Harry Vardon
- 1900 John Henry Taylor
- 1901 James Braid
- 1902 Sandy Herd
- 1903 Harry Vardon
- 1904 Jack White
- 1905 James Braid
- 1906 James Braid
- 1907 Arnaud Massy
- 1908 James Braid
- 1909 John Henry Taylor
- 1910 James Braid
- 1911 Harry Vardon†
- 1912‡ Edward Ray
- 1913 John Henry Taylor
- 1914 Harry Vardon
- 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I
- 1920 George Duncan
- 1921 Jock Hutchison†
- 1922 Walter Hagen
- 1923 Arthur Havers
- 1924 Walter Hagen
- 1925 Jim Barnes
- 1926 Bobby Jones#
- 1927‡ Bobby Jones#
- 1928 Walter Hagen
- 1929 Walter Hagen
- 1930 Bobby Jones#
- 1931 Tommy Armour
- 1932‡ Gene Sarazen
- 1933 Denny Shute†
- 1934‡ Henry Cotton
- 1935 Alf Perry
- 1936 Alf Padgham
- 1937 Henry Cotton
- 1938 Reg Whitcombe
- 1939 Dick Burton
- 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II
- 1946 Sam Snead
- 1947 Fred Daly
- 1948 Henry Cotton
- 1949 Bobby Locke†
- 1950 Bobby Locke
- 1951 Max Faulkner
- 1952 Bobby Locke
- 1953 Ben Hogan
- 1954 Peter Thomson
- 1955 Peter Thomson
- 1956 Peter Thomson
- 1957 Bobby Locke
- 1958 Peter Thomson†
- 1959 Gary Player
- 1960 Kel Nagle
- 1961 Arnold Palmer
- 1962 Arnold Palmer
- 1963 Bob Charles†
- 1964 Tony Lema
- 1965 Peter Thomson
- 1966 Jack Nicklaus
- 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo
- 1968 Gary Player
- 1969 Tony Jacklin
- 1970 Jack Nicklaus†
- 1971 Lee Trevino
- 1972 Lee Trevino
- 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf
- 1974 Gary Player
- 1975 Tom Watson†
- 1976 Johnny Miller
- 1977 Tom Watson
- 1978 Jack Nicklaus
- 1979 Seve Ballesteros
- 1980 Tom Watson
- 1981 Bill Rogers
- 1982 Tom Watson
- 1983 Tom Watson
- 1984 Seve Ballesteros
- 1985 Sandy Lyle
- 1986 Greg Norman
- 1987 Nick Faldo
- 1988 Seve Ballesteros
- 1989 Mark Calcavecchia†
- 1990 Nick Faldo
- 1991 Ian Baker-Finch
- 1992 Nick Faldo
- 1993 Greg Norman
- 1994 Nick Price
- 1995 John Daly†
- 1996 Tom Lehman
- 1997 Justin Leonard
- 1998 Mark O'Meara†
- 1999 Paul Lawrie†
- 2000 Tiger Woods
- 2001 David Duval
- 2002 Ernie Els†
- 2003 Ben Curtis
- 2004 Todd Hamilton†
- 2005‡ Tiger Woods
- 2006 Tiger Woods
- 2007 Pádraig Harrington†
- 2008 Pádraig Harrington
- 2009 Stewart Cink†
- 2010 Louis Oosthuizen
- 2011 Darren Clarke
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† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur
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Won: 14.5 – 13.5
Miguel Ángel Martín qualified for the team, but was forced to withdraw though injury, with his place being taken by José María Olazábal.
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† indicates the event was won in a playoff
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Clarke, Darren |
| Alternative names |
Clarke, Darren Christopher |
| Short description |
Professional golfer |
| Date of birth |
14 August 1968 |
| Place of birth |
Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
US$5.136 billion (2010)
![[icon]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131018140542/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
