PLAYER PROFILE: Darren Clarke

Country: Northern Ireland
DoB: 14 Aug 1968
Height: 6ft 2ins (1.88 meters)
Interests: Fishing, cigars, fine wines, cars and Liverpool FC
Weblink: darrenclarke.com
Family: Sons, Tyrone and Conor. Fiancee, Alison.
Tours: European Tour
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One of the world’s most well known golfers, Darren Clarke has won many fans with his passionate play and dedicated approach to the game. A stalwart of The European Tour since 1991, the Ulsterman is no stranger to firsts.

In the 1999 Smurfit European Open he became the first player on The European Tour to shoot 60 for a second time, having achieved it first in the 1992 European Monte Carlo Open.  In 2002 he became the first player to win the English Open three times and in 2003 became the first player outside Tiger Woods to capture more than one World Golf Championship title.  Three weeks after the untimely death of wife Heather, who finally lost her brave battle against cancer in August 2006, Darren was picked as one of the wild cards for The Ryder Cup at K Club and in an emotionally charged week produced one of his most memorable performances, winning all three of his matches.

A dedicated worker for charity, he set up his own Darren Clarke Foundation, which not only helps further the development of junior golf in Ireland, but also now raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Darren has assured his place in history by earning a place in the renowned ‘Who’s Who’ guide for 2008, and in 2005 he even appeared on an Irish postage stamp. A difficult 2007, where Darren juggled looking after his two sons with his golf regime, saw him slip down the rankings, but he began to find his form again in South Africa before the winter break.

2008 was a great year for Darren with wins in the BMW Asian Open in China and the KLM Open in The Netherlands where his sons Tyrone and Conor were there to witness Dad's victory.

In 2010 he beat a world class field in the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am at Adare Manor in Ireland where he had a one shot victory over Luke Donald. He secured his spot in the 139th Open Championship at St Andrews by finishing 2nd in the Barclays Scottish Open. Darren finished 30th in the European Tour Race To Dubai assuring his place in the field for the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St Georges. He rounded off 2010 in great style with the announcement of his engagement to Alison Campbell.

2011 began well for Darren with a victory in the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca but he enjoyed his finest hour in July when he claimed his maiden major championship. Darren won the 140th Open Championship at Royal St George's in Kent by three shots from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

If you wish to ask Darren a question please CLICK HERE to be taken to Contact The Players website.

Current Status
View Darren's European Tour profile HERE

 

Career Victories
2011 140th Open Championship
2011 Iberdrola Open
2010 JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am
2008 The KLM Open
2008 BMW Asian Open
2005 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiyeiho Masters
2004 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiyeiho Masters
2003 Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters
2003 WGC - NEC Invitational
2002 Compass Group English Open
2001 Smurfit European Open
2001 Chunichi Crowns
2001 Dimension Data Pro-Am
2000 Compass Group English Open
2000 WGC - Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship
1999 Compass Group English Open
1998 Volvo Masters
1998 Benson & Hedges International Open
1996 Linde German Masters
1993 Alfred Dunhill Belgian Open

 

Best Performances 2012

 

Best Performances 2011
Commercialbank Qatar Masters 12T
Volvo Golf Champions 8T
Joburg Open 20T
Africa Open 26T

 

Best Performances 2010
UBS Hong Kong Open 19T
KLM Open 17T
Omega European Masters 15T
3 Irish Open 12T
139th Open Championship 44T
Barclays Scottish Open 2
Estoril Open de Portugal 6T
Avantha Masters 8T
Joburg Open 2T

 

Career History
11th 2011 Race to Dubai €1,590,415
30th 2010 Race To Dubai €892,388
61st 2009 Race To Dubai €534,733
13th 2008 European Tour Order of Merit €1,151,038 
138th 2007 European Tour Order of Merit €172,110 
43rd 2006 European Tour Order of Merit €583,348
20th 2005 European Tour Order of Merit €971,130
8th 2004 Volvo Order of Merit €1,563,802
2nd 2003 Volvo Order of Merit €2,210,051
22nd 2002 Volvo Order of Merit €848,023
3rd 2001 Volvo Order of Merit €1,988,055
2nd 2000 Volvo Order of Merit €2,717,965
8th 1999 Volvo Order of Merit €731,291
2nd 1998 Volvo Order of Merit £902,867

 

Amateur Career
1990 WON Spanish Amateur Open Championship
1990 WON Irish Amateur Closed Championship

 

Team Honours
Ryder Cup representing Europe 1997, 1999, 2001(2002), 2004, 2006, 2010 non-playing Vice Captain.
World Cup representing Ireland 1994 - 1996
Alfred Dunhill Cup representing Ireland 1994 - 1999
Vivendi Seve Trophy representing GB & Ireland 2000, 2002, 2011
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