DARREN CLARKE played an outstanding final round of 69 to finish joint sixth in the Loch Lomond World Invitational Golf Championship and said, with a broad smile, that it was a week to remember.
Clarke finished six shots behind the winner, Thomas Bjorn, of Denmark, who had a seven under par aggregate of 277, and the Irishman was never really in contention for the £125,000 first prize.
But as he said: "It's a great course, its been a great week and I've won a lot of Ryder Cup points and that is what is most important."
The big Irishman won £24,375 and the corresponding number of cup points for his efforts and, after four counting tournaments, is now 12th in the cup table with 47,633.33 points.
To get into the Ryder Cup team in Valderrama next year, Clarke will need some 300,000 points, but he stresses: "It is important to get a lot of points this year before the competition gets really tough next year".
But Bjorn, who became the first Dane to win a European tour event, and Frenchman Jean Van de Velde, began the final round as joint leaders, four strokes ahead of the field and seven ahead of Clarke, who was back in joint seventh place.
Most people expected the leaders to crack with such players as Colin Montgomery, Nick Faldo and Australian Robert Allenby not too far behind them, but they contested the first two places throughout the final round with Bjorn finally beating his rival by one shot.
Clarke knew his task was severe before he set out, but he made a great start with birdies at the second and third holes, sinking a six foot putt for his first birdie and hitting the 505 yards third in two.
Bogeys at the seventh and eighth, where he missed the green both times, set him back, but he made a good recovery with birdies at the 12th and 13th and then pars all the way home.
Eamonn Darcy, who had begun the day one shot ahead of Clarke, looked to be heading for a poor round when he dropped three shots in the first to holes but he hit two magnificent shots to the 560 yards 13th and two pulled for a birdie four and then drove the par four 14th for a second birdie.
It enabled him to snatch a share of 11th place and nearly £13,000 in prize money with a last round 72 for 285.
Of the other Irish players Des Smyth, with two birdies and two bogeys in his level par 71 finished on 288, joint 20th, while Paul McGinley had a poor start and a poor finish with two birdies between to shoot a 75 for 290 and joint 29th spot.
Padraig Harrington was back in joint 39th place on 292 after a level par 71 but he had the consolation of slightly closing the gap on Scotland's Raymond Russell, with whom he is contesting the rookie of the year award.
Russell began the Loch Lomond tournament £5,703 ahead of his rival but shot 75 and is now only £4,278 in front Not much of a move by Harrington, but he said: "It's a step in the right direction."
Harrington, however, is unhappy with his game despite his good score yesterday. "I just cannot drive straight at the moment, my first drive was about loo yards and I mean loo yards - to the right. I've never hit it so wild as I have today but fortunately I holed a few pulls, hit a few good irons and scrambled around."
Ronan Rafferty finished behind his five fellow countrymen, coming in with a 75 for 296 and joint 59th spot. But he was not unhappy.
"I would love to play on a course like this every week," he said. "It would be good for us all because if we played regularly on these type of courses it would improve your shot making, would improve your thinking and would improve your scores. What more can I say?"
