Handling intense pressure at tournament level, according to Tom Watson, is essentially about making the right decisions. On that basis, Darren Clarke was seriously lacking when he effectively handed a crucial point to Sergio Garcia here on the Old Course on Saturday.

In the words of Irish captain Paul McGinley, it culminated in "the most sickening defeat we've ever had" in 15 years of competing in the Alfred Dunhill Cup. And though Clarke honourably took full responsibility for the 2-1 loss to Spain, it did little to soften the blow.

It would be unrealistic to hammer the Tyroneman simply for losing the match. But it is deeply disturbing that Clarke should have failed to finish the job against Garcia, only 10 weeks after squandering a six-stroke, 54-hole lead in the Smurfit European Open.

A measure of Ireland's supremacy over the Spaniards can be gauged from the fact that Clarke was four strokes clear of Garcia after the 11th; McGinley was four clear of Jose-Maria Olazabal at the turn and Padraig Harrington was three ahead of Miguel-Angel Jimenez going to the 12th tee.

Visibly crushed by the experience, Clarke admitted afterwards: "The blame lies fairly and squarely on my shoulders - not on Paul; not on Padraig." And it was clear that he had much soul-searching to do, especially about his decision-making on the treacherous 17th hole.

If there is one hole in golf which has to be treated with the utmost respect, this 461-yard par four is it. Yet, having had the very good fortune to find an eminently playable lie after duck-hooking his tee shot here, Clarke chose to try and get close to the front of the green, 260 yards away, with a three wood.

Almost predictably, it was a ruinous decision, with the ball finding a pot bunker 60 yards short of the target. And when he opened the door to Garcia with a double-bogey six, the 19-year-old was more than happy to walk through. In the process, he offered the necessary encouragement to Miguel-Angel Jimenez for a fightback which culminated in a tie-hole win over Harrington.

Finally, and in response to comments made to me by some of the Irish contingent here, it needs to be said that Clarke was fully committed to the Irish cause - as he invariably is. He wore a windcheater rather than the green team sweater simply because the one supplied to him didn't fit.