Clarke wins again
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Darren Clarke kept his head to end a barren spell of three years on the European Tour.
The 42-year-old Northen Irishman ground out a 69 in the final round of the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca to take his first victory since the KLM Open in 2008.
He had been trailing Chris Wood by four shots going into the final round but the young Englshman had a torrid time over the last nine holes.
Clarke said: “It’s a bit of a monkey off my back after three years without a win. At the same time I feel for Chirs Wood – he’s a young guy and a great player.”
Wood three-putted the 12th and 13th holes and then hit a drive out of bounds on the 15th. Meanwhile, the experienced Clarke was holing a putt from the fringe on the 14th, nailing an approach to six feet on the 15th and saving par on the 16th.
A disappointed Wood said: “I am obviously gutted. When you start dropping shots and you hit one out of bounds, your head starts going all over the place!”
It would have been Wood’s maiden Tour win after losing in a play-off for the Africa Open at the start of the year. He has also had two Open top-five finishes.
Final positions:
1-Darren Clarke, -6
T2-David Lynn, -3
T2-Chris Wood, -3
4-Alistair Forsyth, -2
T5-Paul Lawrie, -1
T5-Shane Lowry, -1
T5-Jose Maria Olazabal, -1
T5-Graeme Storm
