Clarke sets out for confidence boost in Japan

By 10 o'clock yesterday morning, Darren Clarke, after one night's sleep in his own bed, was jetting off again - this time to Japan, far enough away to banish any lingering memories of signing for a 10 on one hole, the 15th, in a nightmare finish to the Spanish Open on Sunday.

"He took the whole thing extremely well. He was surprisingly upbeat," said Clarke's manager Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, "especially when you consider what happened, and also that he eventually finished 32nd in a tournament he had effectively led from early on. Darren couldn't wait to get on the plane to get to another tournament, because he is playing so well and knows that another win isn't far away."

Although the trip to play The Crowns tournament at Nagaya Golf Club on the Japanese Tour was planned some time ago, it could yet prove to be the ideal therapy for Clarke, who has slipped to 10th in the latest world rankings.

The event is an £800,000 one (with Hide Tanaka defending his title) but the conditioning of the course, and particularly the greens, in Aichi should give Clarke the chance to regain confidence with his putter after a tough time on El Saler's greens. He has yet to win on the Japanese circuit, but has two runners-up finishes (including a play-off loss) in previous visits.

Clarke's next appearance on the European Tour won't be until the Benson and Hedges at The Belfry in two weeks' time - the first in a sequence of six straight tournaments, finishing with the US Open.

Meanwhile, any reservations Padraig Harrington had about returning to the circuit for this week's Portuguese Open at Quinta do Lago were dispelled by a couple of days fine-tuning with his coach Bob Torrance in Largs.

Harrington, who took last week off after spending the previous month playing in the US,

heads a strong Irish contingent in the Algarve, where he is joined by Paul McGinley, Des Smyth, Ronan Rafferty, David Higgins, Eamonn Darcy and Philip Walton. Darcy and Walton are playing on sponsor's invites.

McGinley had a session with his coach Pete Cowan at the Quinta course yesterday, and is facing into an important period in his quest to claim a Ryder Cup place. The Dubliner has fallen to 15th in the European table and has decided to change his schedule to include next week's French Open, an event he had intended to miss.

One of those who has leapfrogged over McGinley is Robert Karlsson, who has moved to eighth in the Ryder Cup standings after his win in the Spanish Open. "It's great to be back in the calculations," admitted Karlsson. "Probably three months ago, I was 110th in that list . . . and I am just going to try to keep doing what I am doing and we will see whether the Ryder Cup comes up or not."

Karlsson's caution with regard to the Ryder Cup comes from experience. Two years ago, he finished 11th in the qualifying table but was bypassed by captain Mark James who opted to use Andrew Coltart as one of his two wild-card picks.

"Last time round, I think I got too caught up in it, but now I'm just going to keep trying and playing my best and improving all aspects of my game," said Karlsson. "I've learned to be patient," said Karlsson of his new approach to golf, which has yielded dividends this season and maintained a sequence that has seen him win only in odddigit years on tour. "I'm not so moody. I used to push myself too hard, and one bad thing led to another."

Meanwhile, Richie Coughlan will decide tomorrow whether he can resume his competitive season in the Chrysler Classic on the US Tour, starting on Thursday. The Birr player sustained two fractured ribs in a freak fall over a month ago.

Coughlan has missed four tournaments since the injury but the player arrived in Greensboro on Sunday and has eased his way into some practice. He will make a decision on his participation tomorrow.

Elsewhere, the European Challenge Tour resumes after a month break. This week's tournament takes place in Montecchia in Italy with Damian McGrane, Paddy Gribben, Damien Mooney, Gary Murphy and Peter Lawrie part of the Irish contingent.