Darren Clarke

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Darren Clarke

Personal Information
Birth:	14 August 1968, Dungannon
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Nationality:	Northern Ireland
Residence:	Chobham
Career
College:	Wake Forest University
Turned Professional:	1985
Current Tour:	PGA Tour and European Tour
Professional wins:	17 (European Tour 10, including 2 co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour, Other 7)
Majors:	None
Awards:	None

Darren Christopher Clarke (born August 14, 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who plays on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone. He played college golf at Wake Forest University in the United States.

Clarke has been featured in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings. The most prestigious titles he has won are the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship when he defeated Tiger Woods in the final, and the 2003 WGC-NEC Invitational. His highest finish on the European Tour money list is second, which he achieved in 1998, 2000 and 2003. He has represented Ireland in the World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cup and played for Europe on five consecutive Ryder Cup teams 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2006.

Clarke is represented by International Sports Management.

Contents 1 Private life 2 European Tour wins (10) 3 Other professional wins 4 Professional team appearances 5 Amateur wins 6 Results in major championships 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Private life

Clarke met his wife Heather in a nightclub in Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The couple had two sons, Tyrone (born 1998) and Conor (born 2001), and the family lived at Sunningdale, Berkshire. In 2005 and 2006 he missed several tournaments to care for his wife, who was diagnosed with both primary and, later, secondary breast cancer.

Heather Clarke died at 2.15am on Sunday August 13, 2006 at 39 years of age, in the Royal Marsden Hospital, London (the day before her husband's 38th birthday).

Clarke's friend, Paul McGinley immediately announced his own withdrawal from the PGA Championship starting in Medinah, Illinois on Thursday. In a statement McGinley said, "Our two families are very much intertwined, obviously me and Darren, but Heather and (McGinley's wife) Ali were the best of friends and our kids are in the same class at school. So it is a tough time for us all" ^[1] Clarke later made himself available for selection for the 2006 Ryder Cup. European captain Ian Woosnam chose him as one of his two wild cards and he contributed 3 points from 3 matches to Europe's victory.

Clarke is a keen cigar smoker, on and off the golf course, and has been reported to spend an estimated £25,000 per year on cigars.

Darren was the favourite to win the 2006 Sports Personality Of The year award, but was runner-up to Zara Philips. Darren had previously stated he didn't want to win based on a sympathy vote concerning his wife's death.

[edit] European Tour wins (10)

• 1993 (1) Alfred Dunhill Open
• 1996 (1) Linde German Masters
• 1998 (2) Benson & Hedges International Open, Volvo Masters
• 1999 (1) Compass Group English Open
• 2000 (2) WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship, Compass Group English Open
• 2001 (1) Smurfit European Open
• 2002 (1) Compass Group English Open
• 2003 (1) WGC-NEC Invitational

[edit] Other professional wins

• 1992 Ulster Professional Championship
• 1994 Irish National PGA Championship
• 2001 Dimension Data Pro-Am, Chunichi Crowns (Japan Golf Tour)
• 2003 Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters (Challenge Tour)
• 2004 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters (Japan Golf Tour)
• 2005 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters (Japan Golf Tour)

[edit] Professional team appearances

• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1997 (winners), 1999 (losers), 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners)
• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Ireland): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
• World Cup (representing Ireland): 1994, 1995, 1996
• The Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winners)
• Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2007 (winners)

[edit] Amateur wins

• 1990 Spanish Amateur Open Championship, Irish Amateur Championship

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T8	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT	T43	T43	T10
British Open	T64	CUT	T39	T38	T31	T11	T2	CUT	T30
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Masters Tournament	T40	24	T20	T28	CUT	T17	T22	CUT
U.S. Open	T53	T30	T24	T42	CUT	DNP	56
British Open	T7	T3	T37	T59	T11	T15	CUT
PGA Championship	T9	CUT	CUT	CUT	T13	CUT	DNP

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

[edit] References

1. ^ "Clarke left to mourn wife's death", BBC News, 2006-08-13.

[edit] See also

• Golfers with most European Tour wins
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Profile on the official site of the European Tour
• Profile on the official site of the PGA Tour
• Results in ranking events for the last two years from the Official World Golf Ranking site