Perhaps it's a sign that Darren Clarke is finally back in harmony with his game, but yesterday the professional - like Colin Montgomerie - was again offering his time for free, albeit for a worthy cause. The occasion was a charity outing in St George's Hill Golf Club in Surrey in aid of victims of last year's Omagh bombing, and it provided a sombre reminder of the misfortune inflicted on others.
Among the players at the event were Clarke, Montgomerie and Nick Faldo - and, by co-incidence, all three had reason to be upbeat about their respective games after the Benson and Hedges International Open at The Oxfordshire. They now head into a sequence that takes in two of the richest tournaments on the PGA European Tour, this week's TPC of Europe in Heidelberg and next week's Volvo PGA at Wentworth.
When compared with last year's victory in the B and H, Clarke's tie for 20th position may not seem like much to jump up and down about. Given his previous tournaments this season, however, it meant a lot.
Clarke's previous outings on the European Tour (including the Andersen matchplay and the US Masters which counted towards the European moneylist) read: Malaysian Open (missed cut), Dubai Desert Classic (tied-62nd), Andersen Consulting matchplay (tied-33rd/first round loser), Turespana Masters (missed cut), US Masters (missed cut). Unlike Montgomerie, who seemingly can leave his clubs in a cupboard for three weeks and pick them up again with a new hunger, Clarke has discovered that he can't afford such a luxury. "I've learnt my lesson from last winter," he insisted, "I know I have to keep hitting balls, even in my time away from tournaments."
By contrast, Montgomerie, is now up to third place on the Order of Merit, despite having played only three of the 15 counting tournaments so far. The fact that others play so much more would appear on the surface to lessen his chances, but Montgomerie does not agree.
"I've been at this long enough to realise that you do get stale - but I don't give myself the opportunity to become that," he said. "I came here not having touched a club for three weeks. I was fresh and wanting to win."
Clarke is more confident now, however, about the immediate future and will play the next three weeks on the European Tour - taking in the TPC, the PGA and the English Open - before heading over to Pinehurst a week early to practise on the number two course where the US Open takes place next month.
"I'm now looking forward to the next few weeks, playing big tournaments on courses that I like," insisted Clarke.
Indeed, the Ulsterman can take some solace from Eamonn Darcy's recent sudden improvement. In the past two weeks, Darcy has finished tied fifth at the French Open and tied seventh at the Benson and Hedges. However, five of his previous eight appearances had resulted in missed cuts and his other three finishes had seen him in tied 55th in the Dubai Classic, tied 55th in the Portuguese Open, and tied 72nd in the Estoril Open.
Darcy credits his upsurge in form to a new Callaway hawkeye driver - "there aren't too many guys hitting outside me," he said - and a new Teardrop putter that he has put into his bag in recent weeks. "The ball explodes off the face, and it really suits me," he explained.
Meanwhile, Paul McGinley plans to carry out some remedial work this week on a swing "that is fractionally out." The Dubliner plays in this week's TPC and next week's Volvo PGA, but has decided to take a rest the week of the English Open because of his dislike for the Hanbury Manor course.
Back in the 1960s, the Shell Wonderful World of Golf was credited with the global popularisation of golf. Now, a modern series of head-to-head duels, played on some of the most famous courses in the world, will be televised by Network 2 on Saturday mornings over an eight week period. The first programme, next Saturday, features Jack Nicklaus against Tom Watson at Pebble Beach, while the final programme on July 10th will also have Watson in action, on that occasion against Fred Couples at Mount Juliet.
The programmes will go out each week at 11.00 a.m. and the full series is: May 22nd - Jack Nicklaus v Tom Watson at Pebble Beach; May 29th - Phil Mickelson v Colin Montgomerie at Colorado; June 5th - Fred Couples v Greg Norman at Skibo Castle; June 12th - Chi Chi Rodriquez v Lee Trevino at Palmas Del Mar, Puerto Rico; June 19th - Nick Price v Greg Norman at Hobe Sound, north of Palm Beach; June 26th - Seve Ballesteros v Tom Kite at Royal Padrena; July 3rd - Nick Faldo v Greg Norman at Sunningdale; July 10th - Tom Watson v Fred Couples at Mount Juliet.
Irish placings in Order of Merit - 12th, P Harrington #182,767 (St£130,547); 15th, P McGinley #176,506 (St£126,075); 58th, E Darcy #59,485 (St£42,489); 86th, D Clarke #36,787 (St£26,276); 88th, D Smyth #34,595 (St£24,711); 180th, P Walton #5,165 (St£3,689); 195th, J McHenry #2,712 (St£1,937).
