Clarke to skip Malaysian Open

TOUR NEWS:THE IRONY of the changing of the guard on tour won't be lost on Darren Clarke, who has decided to withdraw from this week's Malaysian Open, and, in effect, forfeit any chance of a late charge up the world rankings to earn a place at the Accenture World Matchplay in a fortnight. Instead, he will revise his tour schedule with a view to attempting to get into the field for the US Masters.

At a time when his protégé, Rory McIlroy, has moved to 15th in the world, Clarke, stagnant at 73rd, has decided not to make the journey to Malaysia and, instead, will resume tournament play at the Honda Classic in Florida next month as part of a stint Stateside aimed at getting him into the world’s top-50 before the cut-off for Augusta.

Clarke who has failed to finish better than tied 51st in any of his four appearances on the European Tour schedule this season.

So, having assessed matters, and figuring that he needed a win or possibly a runner-up finish in Malaysia to jump back into the world’s top-64 before next Monday’s cut-off for the Matchplay, he felt a fresh approach was necessary.

The Honda, where his friend and ISM stablemate Ernie Els will defend his title, has been pencilled in as a tournament where he hopes to kick-start his season.

Clarke, who won twice last year, in the Asian and the Dutch Opens, has made four appearances on tour this season, finishing tied 58th in the HSBC Champions, 51st in the South African Open, missing the cut in the Qatar Masters and finishing tied 54th in Dubai.

He did, however, tie for second in the Africa Open on the Sunshine Tour last month.

For Clarke to claim a place in the field for Augusta, he needs to break into the top-50 on the week before the season’s first major. That new quest will get under way in earnest at the Honda on March 5th, giving him a month to achieve his aim.

As of now, three Irish players – Pádraig Harrington, McIlroy and Graeme McDowell – are assured of places in the Matchplay in Tucson. The cut-off for qualifying, with the top 64 available players off the world rankings, is Monday next, although the actual draw won’t be finalised until the following week.

Harrington (third), McIlroy (15th) and McDowell (36th) are all positioned to avoid each other in the opening round.

Harrington, who had entered the Buick Invitational in Torrey Pines worried about “the crossover” from practice to tournament play, is in the field for this week’s Pebble Beach pro-am, where he is due to partner JP McManus.

Paul McGinley is also in the field in California, when he will play alongside Dermot Desmond.

McGinley will be hoping that a return to one of his favourite tournaments will act as the catalyst for an improvement in form. The Dubliner missed the cut in Qatar and Dubai in his last two outings on tour, and admitted: “The bottom line is that I didn’t play very well and I have a lot of work to do on my game to turn things around.”

However, the three-time Ryder Cup winner claimed he had worked “vigorously, despite the snow” at his home in Sunningdale over the past week as he prepared for a return to competition in the Pebble Beach pro-am.

“My work-rate and practice will continue to be accelerated in search of my form, which I really feel is not a million miles away,” insisted McGinley.

A quartet of Irish players are competing in Malaysia this week, where the growing drawing power of the European Tour since the introduction of the Race to Dubai concept is reflected in US Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim’s inclusion in the field.

Kim, who has taken out affiliate membership of the European Tour, also intends to take in next week’s Johnnie Walker championship in Australia, which is con-sanctioned by the European Tour, en route to travelling home for the Accenture Matchplay the following week.

Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie, Gareth Maybin and Gary Murphy are competing in Malaysia, while Michael Hoey is fifth reserve.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin, have announced the birth of their second child, a boy named Charlie Axel. The boy was born on Sunday and is a brother for 19-month-old Sam Alexis.

“Both Charlie and Elin are doing great and we want to thank everyone for their sincere best wishes and kind thoughts. Sam is very excited to be a big sister and we feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family,” said Woods on his website.

Woods is the defending champion at the Accenture Matchplay but is not expected to play. He has been out of action since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery following his 14th major victory at the US Open last June and is expected to reappear on tour next month ahead of the US Masters. It is expected that he will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill two weeks before Augusta.

• Nick Watney overhauled fellow American John Rollins to clinch his second PGA Tour title by a shot at the Buick Invitational on Sunday. Five strokes behind the pacesetting Rollins overnight, Watney birdied three of the last six holes on the picturesque South Course to seal victory with a four-under-par 68.

After sinking a 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe of the 16th green to move into a tie for the lead, Watney also birdied the par-five 18th for an 11-under total of 277.

Rollins, three ahead with five to play, had to settle for second place after closing with a topsy-turvy 74.

Colombian Camilo Villegas, who narrowly missed a 40-foot eagle putt at the last, closed with a 72 to share third place at nine under with American Lucas Glover (68).

World number three Harrington signed off with his best score of the week, a 68, lifting him into a tie for 24th at one under.