One man and his caddie, just the two of them, on the practice putting green that hugs the classical clubhouse at Valderrama, writes Philip Reid at Valderrama.

These days, there is less chubby flesh around Darren Clarke's facial features and the daily fitness regime has also produced a leaner, firmer torso. And the world's number 12-ranked golfer is not the only player to benefit from shedding the pounds - in weight, not monetary ones - as a recent clearout of his wardrobe resulted in a hefty donation to the Oxfam charity shops.

"I'm having to wear XL rather than XXL," said Clarke with the kind of proud satisfaction of a boy who has eaten all his greens, "and that meant something like a hundred pairs of trousers, a hundred shirts and two hundred polo shirts going to Oxfam."

Whatever about his more svelte figure, and the feel-good factor that it brings, this week Clarke - who is now the sole employer of his personal trainer, Steve Hampson, and brings the former rugby league coach around the circuit with him - returns to competition in the Volvo Masters knowing the money title has again escaped his grasp. That Ernie Els, the winner, hasn't even shown up starkly emphasises the futile chase.

Still, for Clarke, this is a serious time of the season. Not only is the Volvo Masters - a €3.8 million tournament with €583,330 going to the winner - a title worth winning in its own right, but the 35-year-old Tyrone man also has his eye cast across the Atlantic and what happens on the US Tour this week.

At present, Clarke is 26th in the qualifying criteria for the Tour Championship in Houston, for which the top 30 make it into the field, but there is only about $80,000 separating him from the 31st-placed player.

"It's all very tight, and I won't know until Sunday night whether I am flying to Houston or staying on in Spain to play in the Seve Trophy," said Clarke. "I don't know what's going on. It needs five guys to go by me, but there is $4.8 million on offer (in the Chrysler Championship in Tampa, Florida), so I will have to keep an eye on it."

The difference in Clarke's position on the US Tour money list (97th) and his position for the Tour's grand finale is explained by the fact his prize money from the Accenture Matchplay and the $1 million he won in the NEC Invitational, which he elected to put towards his home tour, the European Tour, is also taken into consideration for qualifying for the Tour Championship.

If he makes it into that elite field, then Clarke will definitely head Stateside.

"There are three tournaments I haven't played in and I want to. The Tour Championship is one; the Mercedes Championship is two, and the Grand Slam of Golf is three. Hopefully, I will go and play in the Tour Championship (next week), because I haven't done it before."

Although the European Tour Order of Merit title has gone to Els, Clarke is set to finish second in the money list for a third time.

"That's a bit frustrating," he admitted. "But you've got to look at the bigger picture. Ernie has played well and deserved to win more than I did, and you've got to hold your hands up and say, 'fair enough'. But it was out of my grasp this year. I had the opportunity at the Dunhill Championship on a Sunday, didn't produce the score I could have done and that was my chance more or less gone.

"I've no regrets about not playing the Madrid Open (last week). If I'd gone there and won, then Ernie would still not have come here. But I wasn't fit to play. I needed some time off after Las Vegas, and then I did a two-day gig for Jaguar in Turnberry, had the (Darren Clarke) Foundation weekend in Dublin and then had another company day in Queenwood (outside London).

"That was five days away doing things and it didn't give me a chance to be ready for last week."

Instead, Clarke didn't touch a club all week, and so occupied with family life was he that he didn't even get around to watching Ireland's rugby match with Argentina. For a former schools number eight, that was quite a sacrifice.

The weather here on Monday was so bad he didn't get to play the course, but he managed nine holes yesterday morning, followed by some time on the range, more time on the putting green, and finally a trip to the gym.

"I've played well here before. I like this golf course, (but) it does require a lot of positioning off the tee which is not always the way I like to play a golf course. But if you get on the right part of the fairway, then you can attack this golf course," said Clarke, who believes all the components in his game have come together.

Most notable of all the changes implemented this season has been the move to a serious fitness regime, with Hampson a constant presence on tour. "There were a couple of times I threatened to do it before, as you're aware, (but) at that stage I felt I didn't want to do it on tour, that I wouldn't have the time. I wanted to practice and do all my other stuff.

"Because my practice routine has changed, and I spend more time on quality as opposed to quantity, I have more free time in the afternoons, or the mornings, or whatever. I have somebody with me everywhere I go on tour and that's the only way I can work out on tour. He is with me everywhere I go. He works for me, that's his job."

This has been a good year for Clarke. He is up to 12th in the world rankings (from 23rd at the start of the year) and, in terms of world points picked up in 2003, he is actually ninth.

"There's a lot of world ranking points here this week and one of my goals is to get back into the top 10 in the world. I made changes at the start of year and stuck to them, and the fact I'm now up to 12th and, hopefully, going forward justifies what I have done.

"A season is not purely about what tournaments you've won or how you've played in them, you take a look at the points gained in world ranking terms, and that's what I pay attention to."