Darren Clarke will celebrate his 500th European Tour event teeing up in today’s starting Masters.
Clarke had been set to join the Tour’s ‘500 Club’ earlier this year at the Qatar Masters but a chest muscle strain on the eve of the event in Doha negated that.
Instead a small presentation took place yesterday (WED) in the shadow of the stately Augusta clubhouse when European Tour CEO George O’Grady presented Clarke with a specially inscribed ice bucket.
European Tour CEO George O’Grady presents Darren Clarke with a commemorative ice bucket to celebrate Clarke’s 500th European Tour event at this week’s Masters. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
“It’s a great honour to receive this ice bucket as a mark of my 500th European Tour event this week, but then I would have used one of these more in the past than I do now,” he said smiling.
“But to make 500 is incredible because it doesn’t seem that long ago I started, so time has gone very quick, and I am probably as mad now as I was back then so nothing has really changes.
“One season just happens after another and here I am a day away from teeing up in my 500th event.”
Clarke will be teeing up in his 12th Masters and the same number of appearances it took Adam Scott to be fitted with an Augusta green jacket.
His best effort was strangely on debut in 1998 when he finished T8th behind Mark O’Meara and when he finished with scores of 67 and 69.
However he will tee up later today having missed the cut in his past two events – the Arnold Palmer Invitational and last week’s Shell Houston Open.
But after Friday’s round in Houston he was spotted working with American Steve Stricker, and with Stricker offering the former British Open winner, advice on what has been Clarke’s biggest concern and that’s the shortest club in his bag.
“Steve and I have known each other for a while and all he was trying to was help me out and get me going in the right direction,” said Clarke.
“That’s the good thing about this sport that players like him can help you out with aspects of your game, and Steve does help a lot of players.
“But I’ve done all my homework and spent a lot of times on greens this week mapping them out, and probably moreso than any other time I’ve been here.
“So I am hoping for a good result this week but this is a tough golf course where the margins are just so fine.
“The good thing is that having played here so many times that I do know where to and where not to hit it.”
