RealClearSports: Mickelson, U.S. Women Are Not Losers

in ,
By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SANDWICH, England — Wonder what the One Great Scorer is thinking these days? He's the one Grantland Rice poetically told us will take more notice on how we played the game than whether we won or lost.

Not a very modern concept one would conclude. Or is it?

The heroes and heroines deservedly were Darren Clarke, who took the British Open ...

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Global Golf Post: In Us Vs. Them, Nobody Wins

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By Art Spander
For GlobalGolfPost.com

SANDWICH, ENGLAND -- To the British, the Open Championship, that exercise in broken umbrellas and broken dreams – for verification, see Donald, Luke and Westwood, Lee – is less a golf tournament than a national treasure to be protected at all costs from Americans.

We are, as George Bernard Shaw pointed out, two nations separated by a common language. More than that, we are kept apart by different sporting philosophies.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 Global Golf Post

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

in ,
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.' "

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Newsday (N.Y.): Clarke leads Johnson in British Open

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
SANDWICH, England -- One has a lifetime of near misses, the other only a single heart-breaking year. Darren Clarke and Dustin Johnson are  linked more by what they haven't done than what they have.

Clarke, at 5-under-par 205, has a one-shot lead over Johnson after Saturday's third round of the 140th British Open, a tournament battered by weather and elevated by expectations.

"I've failed 19 times to try and lift the Claret Jug,'' Clarke, 42, said of the trophy presented to the champion, "and Sunday, I have the opportunity.''

So does Johnson, 27, from South Carolina whose  near misses in 2010, unable to hold final-round leads at the U.S. Open and PGA  Championship, made him a sympathetic figure.

American pros are winless in the last five majors, including the U.S. Open last month at Congressional, won by Clarke's Northern Irish countryman, Rory McIlroy.

A year ago, another Northern Irishman, Graeme McDowell, won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. And there have been German and South African winners. Now, suddenly the leader board is full of U.S. challengers besides Johnson.

Ten of the top 16 golfers after 54 holes are Americans, including Rickie Fowler, whose  2-under 68 moved him into a tie for third; Lucas Glover, tumbling  from a tie for first after a 73, is tied for fifth; and Anthony Kim, Davis Love III and -- surprise -- Phil  Mickelson are tied for seventh.

The nasty weather forecast arrived Saturday with a bang, 30-mph winds and in the morning steady rain. But conditions started to abate by the time Clarke and Glover teed off at 3  p.m. "We started off in terrible conditions,'' Clarke said, "but then got lucky.''

Clarke shot 1-under 69 with superb ball-striking and only so-so putting.

Johnson shot 2-under 68. Johnson, who in the first round was 4 over through 13 holes, was at 5 under with two to play Saturday but bogeyed 17.

"The European Tour guys have been playing well," Johnson said, alluding to the fact that Mickelson, at the 2010  Masters, was the last U.S. player to take a major. "But I don't think there's anything wrong with the American guys or American golf. We struggled, but we've got a good shot at getting one Sunday.''

Johnson had great shots last year. He was in front at Pebble Beach in the Open, then triple-bogeyed the second hole and double-bogeyed the third. Two months later, after apparently tying for first in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Johnson was penalized for grounding his club in a bunker and missed the playoff won by German Martin Kaymer.

"The U.S. Open,'' Johnson said about his agony, "was the first time I've gone into a major in the last group.''

Sunday will be the third time in the last six tournaments. Knowing the crowd will be cheering for Clarke, Johnson said: "I'm OK with that. He's on his home turf, so I would expect him to have huge crowd support. But the fans out there have been great for me.''

They were out there for McIlroy, as well, but he  played inconsistently, hit a ball out-of-bounds and shot 4-over 74, tying him  with the venerable Tom Watson, the 61-year-old who shot 72 in the worst of the weather and is tied with McIlroy.

Mickelson has only one top 10 finish, a third in 2004, in 17 previous British Opens, but he seems to have figured out links golf. "We got lucky with the weather,'' Mickelson said, echoing Clarke. "We went from fighting for pars on every hole to thinking birdies on some holes.''

Clarke's wife died of cancer just before the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club near Dublin. He chose to play, won all three of his matches and inspired the Europeans to a rout.

Clarke has reordered his life and is engaged to a former Miss Northern Ireland. Asked what it would mean to win the Open, Clarke replied: "Everything. It's the biggest and best tournament in the world.''


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Newsday (N.Y.): Clarke, Glover lead British Open

in ,
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SANDWICH, England -- The Open Championship? This one is as open and as wild as any in history. After two rounds, everyone who made the cut in the 140th British Open has a chance to finish first.

There are only seven shots between the co-leaders, Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover, who are at 4-under-par 136 after Friday, and the highest scorers remaining, a large group at 3-over 143 which includes K.J. Choi and Paul Casey.

Six days ago, when he arrived in England after taking last weekend's John Deere Classic, Steve Stricker was asked who might win this Open at Royal St. George's. He cautiously, but it turns out correctly, answered, "I think anybody can."

Well, anybody but the top two players in the World Golf Ranking, respectively Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. Or Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, PGA Tour money leader Nick Watney and Matt Kuchar. All missed the cut.

But Clarke, 42, shot his second straight 68, and Glover, winner of the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, who Friday had a 70, certainly can win.

So can Thomas Bjorn, who despite a 2-over 72 after his 65 Thursday is only a shot back at 137. So can Chad Campbell, PGA champ Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez, also at 137.

So can Masters champ Charl Schwartzel at 138, or Phil Mickelson -- yes, that Phil Mickelson, who only once before was a contender in the Open -- at 139. So can last month's U.S. Open winner, Rory McIlroy, who after a 1-under 69 Friday is at 140.

Perhaps so can the 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis, who is at 139 after adding a stumbling 74 to his first-day 65. Maybe so is 61-year-old Tom Watson, who had a hole-in-one on the 178-yard sixth and shot 70 for 142.

"It's the most open I've seen an Open in a long time," McIlroy said. He's only 22, but he's heard from others. "I think it will be exciting to be a part of it and exciting to watch the next two days."

Especially if the forecast is accurate. Friday, the weather along the English Channel was more like the Southern California coast. The temperature was in the 70s, the breeze was light. But it's supposed to turn nasty Saturday, heavy rain, stiff wind.

"I hope it comes in," Mickelson said, "and we get faced with that. I think it's going to be a difficult challenge, but the course is set up in a way it can accommodate some bad weather. And it's fun to be in contention heading into the weekend of the British."

For only the second time in his 18 attempts.

McDowell, winner of last year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and McIlroy, winner of this year's, are proteges of Clarke's. Clarke has a second in the 1998 Open and a third in 2001, but that's as close as he's come to any major.

"It would mean an awful lot," he said of a possible victory.

Glover, the Clemson graduate, grew a full beard over the winter and kept it. "They told me," he said, "no one has won the Open Championship with a beard since the 1890s."

Actually, it was 1882, Bob Ferguson at St. Andrews.

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