Newsday (N.Y.): Clarke holds off Phil, Dustin for victory

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANDWICH, England -- He stepped out of the rain and the pressure to a place  no one except Darren Clarke ever believed he would be, the final green at the British Open -- his nation's championship, as it were -- with a lead impossible to squander.

That he made bogey on the final two holes Sunday was irrelevant. Clarke's journey, the longest ever to an Open victory, was a success, and as he said later, "I certainly had a few thoughts going through my head.''

Clarke, 42, won on his 20th attempt to hoist the Claret Jug; no player had won the Open after more than 15 empty tries. He had given the remarkable little nation of Northern Ireland (population about 1.8 million) its third major champion in 13 months.

Graeme McDowell won the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Rory McIlroy the recent U.S. Open at Congressional and now with a final-round even-par 70 and a 72-hole total of 5-under-par 275 at Royal St. George's, Clarke, in the words of R&A chief Peter Dawson, had  become, "Champion golfer of the year.''

He finished three shots ahead of Americans Phil Mickelson, who  provided front-nine drama and had his best-ever British Open, and Dustin Johnson. Another shot behind at 279 was Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who had shared the first-round lead. They were the only  golfers under par.

Chad Campbell, Anthony Kim and Rickie Fowler, three more  Americans, were at 280 in this 140th Open, giving the maligned United States five of the top seven.

With Davis Love tied for ninth and Steve Stricker and Lucas Glover tied for 12th, there were eight Americans in the top 14.

Still, it was the sixth straight major without an American winner.

Clarke had not contended in the Open since 2001. He had been put in the shade, as the Brits say, by McDowell, who missed the cut, and the 22-year-old McIlroy, who shot 7-over  287. "But I always believed I would get back,'' Clarke said.

What amounted to a home crowd cheered Clarke all the way, finishing with a mammoth standing ovation as he paraded the 18th fairway.

"It's been a dream since I've been a kid to win the Open,'' Clarke said, "like any kid's dream is, and I'm able to do it, which just feels incredible . . . The crowd were sensational for me all week. It's been a while since I felt that amount of support.''

Clarke, who likes to hoist a few -- "I may not be sober for the Irish Open,  but I will be in Killarney'' -- has been a popular and sympathetic figure. His wife, Heather, died just before the 2006 Ryder Cup. He chose to play, won three matches and was called an inspiration to the overwhelming European win.

Johnson, who started the day a shot behind Clarke, was 1 over on the front and fell to four behind after nine. Mickelson moved into  second with a brilliant 5-under 30 on those holes. But going into 14, Clarke was  7 under, Johnson 5 under and Mickelson 4 under.

Reminiscent of his failures last year in the U.S. Open and PGA, Johnson hit his second shot on  the par-5 14th out of bounds.

Clarke received text messages before the final round from Tiger Woods, whom he counts  as a close friend, and McIlroy, who gained inspiration from Clarke growing up in  Northern Ireland.

McIlroy and McDowell had achieved their dreams. Now Darren Clarke, their mentor, realized his.

At the victory ceremony on the 18th green, Clarke pointed skyward and in remembrance of his wife, said someone was watching over him.

"In terms of what's going through my heart, there's obviously somebody who is watching down from up above there, and I know she'd be very proud of me," Clarke said later. "She's probably be saying, 'I told you so.' "