Relaxed Clarke firmly in the mix

140th BRITISH OPEN: PRESSURE? WHAT pressure? Where once dark storm clouds seemed strategically located just above the greying hairs on Darren Clarke's head, the merest wayward drive or missed putt prone to hurl him into blackness, these days the 42-year-old northerner is all sunshine and light.

Off the course, he is a ringer for Tommy Tiernan; on it, he’s playing like the Darren Clarke of yore, who inspired the next generation of golfers from his part of the world.

Now, he’s inspiring himself. Yesterday, as the British Open reached its midway stage, Clarke found a place at the business end of affairs. Instead of being an onlooker in the Majors – as he was when Graeme McDowell claimed the US Open at Pebble Beach a year ago, and as he was when Rory McIlroy took the same trophy at Congressional last month – Clarke has earned a major part in the drama unfolding on the links here at Sandwich.

Perhaps humour is a way of diverting away the pressure of contending in a championship he calls “the greatest” in the world.

On the first tee, he’d become the focus of a spectator wolf whistling from the grandstands as he did his stretching routine. “Yeah, that was somebody whistling at me when I was bending over stretching. ‘I hope that was a lady’, was my response. He whistled again, same guy. I’m doing something all wrong,” quipped Clarke in recalling the incident.

Yesterday, after signing for a second successive 68 for 138, four under par, Clarke was – quite rightly – in chipper form. No wolf whistles this time, just genuine all-round applause as he trooped off from the 18th green after sinking a putt for birdie and an appreciation of a good day’s work in a rollercoaster of a round that featured a double-bogey and an eagle in the space of four holes on his front nine.

Clarke, winner of the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca earlier in the season, his 13th win on the PGA European, has been struggling of late since that win: tied-45th at the BMW PGA, 63rd at the Wales Open, missed cut at the French Open, tied-66th at the Scottish Open. Hardly a portent of what has unfolded here.

The difference? A meeting of minds this past week with sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella, who he describes as “an old friend”.

In the post-round media conference, Clarke gave an insight into his laid-back approach: why was there such a big gap in his meeting with Rotella? “Probably 4,000 miles,” responded Clarke.

But couldn’t you use video link technology?

“No, not really . . . I haven’t been playing in America that much. Whenever I used to play over there, I’d see him frequently. But I’m playing more predominantly in Europe now.

Did anyone take his place?

“Many have tried . . . I’ve broken many of them, thank you. But Dr Bob, his thought process is very simple and that seems to suit me.”

And when it was put to him that his manager, Chubby Chandler, had talked of putting Clarke on a diet, the player replied: “Chubby has always said I play better fat, so I’ve obviously been adhering to that theory. He has been going on with points and Weight Watchers and everything all week. After seeing myself on television, he might have a point.”

Boom! Boom!

On a more serious note, Clarke – through his good play of the past two days – has put himself into a position to challenge for a championship that has always meant more to him than any other.

Throughout his career, Clarke has won two WGCs – including staring down Tiger Woods in his prime – and claimed tournaments all over the world. But a major has proved elusive; his closest calls coming in the Open at Troon in 1997 (when he was second) and the Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2001 (when he was third).

In recent years, he has seen Pádraig Harrington capture three majors and, in the past 13 months, has seen two of the players he himself inspired – Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy – come up trumps.

“I’ve been personally delighted for both of them. You know, we’ve got back-to-back US Open champions from a little, small country like Northern Ireland. That’s a massive achievement.

“You can’t explain how big that actually is. We’ve got two wonderful ambassadors for Northern Ireland in G Mac and Rory and it’s been great. So it hasn’t really affected me apart from being proud that I’m from the same place as they are and I may have given them a little bit of a helping hand here and there on the way up.”

Clarke, however, believes he has benefited from moving back home to Portrush after living in London for the previous 13 years.

“It’s a lot easier to play better whenever family life and stuff at home is much better, much more stable again,” said Clarke, whose wife, Heather, died shortly before the Ryder Cup at The K Club in 2006.

He is now in a new relationship and got engaged last Christmas to Alison Campbell, who runs her own model agency.

As for the golf, Clarke always believed he would contend again in a Major.

As he put it, “if you ask any professional, whenever they’ve not playing as well as they think they should, we all get annoyed and frustrated.

“But I’ve been around the mill for a while. So, I never really disappear. I’m just trying to get it back out again. So far this week, I’ve played quite nicely.”