Background and career
Darren Christopher Clarke (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Previously he played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide, including on the Japan Golf Tour and Sunshine Tour. His biggest victory came when he won the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George's in England, his first major win after more than 20 years and 54 attempts. Clarke has also won two World Golf Championship events, most notably the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship, when he defeated Tiger Woods in the final. Clarke was ranked in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 43 weeks between 2000 and 2002. His highest finish on the European Tour money list is second, which he achieved in 1998, 2000 and 2003. Clarke is currently ranked as the seventh-highest career money winner on the European Tour. Clarke has represented Ireland as both an amateur and as a professional, notably at the World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cup, and was a member of five consecutive European Ryder Cup teams between 1997 and 2006.
Clarke was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and in 1987 he played collegiate golf at Wake Forest University in the United States. He was a junior member of Dungannon Golf Club, whose junior section also included three others who are current PGA Golf Professionals: Alistair Cardwell, Barry Hamill and Gary Chambers. Clarke represented his school, Royal School Dungannon, together with Cardwell and Chambers.
Clarke turned professional in 1990 and he played his first full season on the European Tour in 1991. He contested in his first major championship at the 1991 Open Championship, making the cut before finishing in a tie for 64th place. In 1992 Clarke had a solid season on the European Tour, finishing 41st in overall Order of Merit, in doing so achieving the highest finish of his career at the time with a second-place finish at the Honda Open. He finished three strokes behind champion Bernhard Langer.
Clarke's real breakthrough year was in 1993 when he won his maiden European Tour event and played his way to 8th position on the Order of Merit. After a relatively solid but unspectacular first half of the season, Clarke's form improved greatly during the August–September stretch, achieving four top-10 finishes in four consecutive tournaments. In October 1993, Clarke won his maiden European Tour event at the Alfred Dunhill Open in Belgium. Clarke had the lead after 54 holes and held off the challenge of Englishman Nick Faldo and Vijay Singh, who shot a final-round 64. Clarke prevailed by two strokes. A month later Clarke nearly won his second title at the European Tour's season-ending Volvo Masters, however, he was pipped to the title by Colin Montgomerie who finished one stroke clear. Overall for the season Clarke made 24 out of 30 cuts and finished in the top-10 on seven occasions. The follow-up year in 1994 was another solid season for Clarke on the tour, making 17 of 21 cuts and finishing 37th on the Order of Merit list. Clarke also played in his first U.S. Open although he missed the cut and had his highest finish, at the time, in The Open Championship with a tie for 38th place. In 1995, Clarke had better success, with seven top-10s in 27 events, most notably at the Portuguese Open where he finished second after losing a sudden-death playoff to Adam Hunter on the first extra hole, despite having the joint 54-hole lead. Clarke ended the year 14th on the Order of Merit.
In 1996, Clarke won his second European Tour title at the Linde German Masters by one stroke, shooting a final round 63 to finish 24 under par, one stroke ahead of Englishman Mike Davis. Clarke also recorded his best finish in a major, at that time, with a tie for 11th place at The Open Championship in 1996. He also equalled his best finish on the Order of Merit, placing in 8th for the season. In May 1997, Clarke finished second at the Volvo PGA Championship, two strokes behind Ian Woosnam. In July 1997, Clarke was in a position to win his first major championship at the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon. Clarke held the lead with American Jim Furyk after the first round and then pulled two strokes clear of the field after a 66 in the second round, but a third-round 71 put him two strokes behind leader Jesper Parnevik going into the final day. However, the winner was not to come from the final pairing, as Justin Leonard came storming through the pack with a 65 to beat both Clarke and Parnevik by three strokes. Clarke ended the season 4th on the Order of Merit. In 1998, Clarke made his first appearances at two of the biggest golf events worldwide. He missed the cut on his debut at The Players Championship, but his first visit to Augusta National Golf Club was much more successful, shooting 67–69 on the weekend to finish in a tie for 8th at the Masters Tournament. This remains his highest-ever finish at the Masters to date. In May 1998, Clarke won his third career event on the European Tour at the Benson & Hedges International Open by three strokes from Santiago Luna. Clarke then had three more 2nd-place finishes during the season before winning the season-ending Volvo Masters in Spain. His two victories in 1998 helped him to finish in 2nd place on the final 1998 Order of Merit standings behind Colin Montgomerie. Clarke missed only one cut all year, at the Murphy's Irish Open. In 1999, Clarke captured his fifth European Tour win at the Compass Group English Open, finishing two strokes ahead of John Bickerton. He also achieved his highest-ever placing at the U.S. Open this year when he finished tied for 10th place.
Clarke's worldwide breakthrough came in 2000 when he won his first World Golf Championship event, defeating Tiger Woods in the final 4&3 at the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa. This was Clarke's biggest victory of his career so far as he netted the $1 million first prize. Clarke had a difficult route through the championship but defeated a host of big-name players: Paul Azinger, Mark O'Meara, Thomas Bjørn, Hal Sutton and David Duval before taking on Woods in the final. Clarke's fine year in 2000 continued when he finished tied for second place in the Volvo PGA Championship and the following week he won his seventh European Tour event at the Compass Group English Open. Clarke also recorded his best finish at the PGA Championship with a tie for 9th place. He also had three 2nd-place finishes in the 2000 season, which included eleven top-10 finishes. He finished 2nd on the Order of Merit and it was his highest-ever season in terms of prize money. Clarke earned over €2.7 million for the year.
