Clarke has his mind game in working order

Yesterday, at precisely nine o'clock in the morning, Darren Clarke made the 15-yard walk from the locker-room to where his caddie, Billy Foster, stood in the shadows of the pine trees, handed him three Havana cigars for safe-keeping, and put on his glove in anticipation of some work on the range.

Just then, the siren blasted, and put an end to the best-laid plans. On another day, you might expect the storm clouds which the hooter was anticipating would gather over Clarke's head. Not any longer. Since he met the psychologist, Bob Rotella, a new sense of calm has enveloped the player, and, even in this US Masters week, the demeanour was of resigned acceptance.

Despite an inconsistent start to the season which has mixed victory, in the Dimension Data tournament in South Africa, with a couple of missed cuts, most recently at Bay Hill, Clarke - perhaps aided by Rotella - has high expectations for himself this week.

"My game is very solid and I'd like to see if I could give myself a chance come Sunday," he said.

It's probably no harm either that virtually all the focus is on one man, Tiger Woods, who is attempting to become the first player to hold all four majors at the one time. Certainly, it means that the likes of Clarke, and even defending champion Vijay Singh, have been sheltered from much of the hype these past few days.

"It doesn't bother me at all that the attention is on Tiger," said Singh. "Maybe some other players don't like it, but it suits me fine. It gives me more time to myself, time to concentrate on what I am doing."

Likewise, David Duval, who is returning to tournament play after an enforced three-week break due to a wrist injury, observed that Woods, more than anyone, was well capable of coping with the pressures. "He's dealt with it fine for the last several years," Duval pointed out.

There's evidence too that Clarke, in his own way, is also ready to cope with the pressures involved in winning a major. "This is what we all aspire to. The majors are the biggest tournaments in the world. To win would be fantastic, that's why we practice. That's why we work so hard. If I was to win one, I would want to win again and again and again."

Clarke has knocked on the door in the majors before. He has had top-10 finishes in all four - his best being tied-second in the 1997 British Open - and yesterday he signed a 10year deal with clothing company Donnay that would give him a £2 million bonus payment should he win a major.

So, is there any sense of urgency about winning that first major?

"No. I'm still working very hard on my game and I think I'm improving, a lot slower than I would have liked, but it is slowly getting there. Nick Price was 34 when he won his first, Mark O'Meara was 41 when he won two. So I am not panicking just yet."

Indeed, an insight into Clarke's mature outlook on things was delivered in his observations on Lee Westwood's withdrawal yesterday from the championship, due to the impending arrival of his first child.

"I think family is much more important than any golf tournament. There's a lot of majors to be played and this is Lee's first child, and I think you have got to respect his decision to stay at home," he said.

Clarke, in fact, contributed his current demeanour to the presence with him on tour for the past three weeks of his family. "I get pretty hard on myself and it's good to go back and see the kids and mess about, to have a little fun with them. It takes my mind off golf. I go back to the house and Tyrone (who is two-and-a-half) says `Naughty dad, playing golf all day' and I'm just so relaxed."

Yesterday's weather delay, with the course reopening for some play only late in the afternoon, also enabled Clarke to use his time by again consulting Rotella, who has been helping to unclutter his head. "Whenever things are not going that well, I tend to get very much into my technique and trying to figure out my swing - and then forget what I'm actually supposed to do, like trying to get the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. I'm trying to hit every shot perfect, and that doesn't work. So you manage to get it into the hole some way, which is the theory."

Apart from the continued Rotella involvement, Clarke had another coaching session with Butch Harmon on Monday morning - "He told me I was dropping the club behind me . . . the same sort of thing I fall back into all the time," remarked Clarke - and feels he has benefited from the time spent on his short game at Jacksonville last week, where he practised a lot with Padraig Harrington.

All of which helps to explain his upbeat mood heading into the year's first major. "I'm hitting the ball solidly. This week is about trying to keep the ball on the right side of the flag. If I can, then hopefully I'll give myself an opportunity to better my best finish here," said Clarke, who finished tied-eighth on his debut appearance in 1998.