What has happened to Clarke?

[SonicBoom]

DC seems to have completely fallen apart after his Open win. In fact yesterday in Dubai he ended up stone last which I would have thought he found embarrassing. Cant be nice to be introduced as the current Open champion on the tee each day as you slide down the board.
so what's going on? Has he just relaxed totally after his big win, or does it point toward the fact it was 4 good days that he can't repeat again?

 

[Aztecs27]

To be honest, what's he got left to achieve? He's won Ryder Cups, tour events and is now a major winner. He's probably content with playing the events he wants to play, if he does well, great, if he doesn't well he goes back to his family and it's all happy endings. I'm sure he's not happy with coming last, but he seems the kind of bloke who will take it all in his stride.

Either that or he's still on a come down after his massive Open win and might need the winter to re-charge the batteries.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

He's probably still hungover from the party he had after the open.

 

[ADB]

Agree with Aztecs, but I think the manner of his win at The Open will be difficult to replicate for him. He had the ball on a string and putted extremely well as well as being (seemingly) totally relaxed with his game and himself. That combination of mental and physical both coming together in harmony may never happen to him again - and that may be difficult to deal with on a week-by-week basis.

Maybe a period of time to re-set his goals would be beneficial over the close season.

BTW - interesting article on this in GM.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

With all the terrible personal things he's endured i am sure coming last in a tornament wont affect him too much. Personally I really admire him as a person, great sportsman and seems a nice guy. If the open was his 'only' major so what, he has had a career that only a few will match.

 

[pbrown7582]

just been a long season which he has gone from big lows to massive high sure a few weeks off over winter to recharge batterires and some quality family time he'll come back to pereform admirably next year,

 

[needmoreclub]

Many a 'major champion has gone off the boil after their win, Big D will be back, he's too good not to win again.

 

[barrybridges]

Put simply, I think Clarke is - and always was - a spent force.

He's getting older and - up until the Iberdola tournament earlier this year - was always way back in the pack.

You have to remember that he was incredibly lucky at the Open. His first two rounds were played in such good conditions which then totally fell apart for everyone else. I know that everyone wants him to do well as a home player of sorts, but it amazes me how everyone overlooks the fortune he had with the weather. Almost everyone else was playing in a different set of conditions.

I just think that he really lucked out at the Open - and since then his backwards movement in the game has been exposed.

Sorry to be harsh but it's the beginning of the end...

 

[One Planer]

Put simply, I think Clarke is - and always was - a spent force.

Really!

22 professional wins, including a major, not to mention 5 Ryder Cups (... Incl 4 wins). I wish I could be half as spent as him.

 

[colint]

Put simply, I think Clarke is - and always was - a spent force.

How can someone "always" have been a spent force ? To be a spent force, surely you had to be a force in the first place which has then become spent ?

He did have some luck with the weather at The Open, but also played great in the bad weather when it hit him and it was his ability to hold on in the gales that really won it imho

 

[DCB]

Put simply, I think Clarke is - and always was - a spent force.


You have to remember that he was incredibly lucky at the Open. His first two rounds were played in such good conditions which then totally fell apart for everyone else. I know that everyone wants him to do well as a home player of sorts, but it amazes me how everyone overlooks the fortune he had with the weather. Almost everyone else was playing in a different set of conditions.

Got to win the 2012 Forum Award for the Biggest Pile Of Pish Spouted By A Forum Member.

Clarke was only able to play in the conditions that were before him. He handled all the weather thrown at him extremely well. His opponents on the final day didn't quite catch him over the final stretch.

He posted the lowest score therefore he was the winner..

 

[Wildrover]

What Barrybridges fails to appreciate is half of the field played in exactly the same conditions as Darren did on the first 2 days so any luck involved was also had by all those others in the same half of the draw. Much the same as Louis the year before, he had the break with the weather but he wasn't out there playing on his own at those times, he just used it to his advantage the most. Has to be up there in the forum awards as "most drivel in one post".

 

[HickoryShaft]

Bound to upset a few people with those comments Barry.

I think DC's appeal to most is that he is one of the most down to earth people out there, kept persevering and never gave up on that elusive major win.

Yes I agree hes on a bad roll at the moment, a few big winners go through this - hopefully its just a blip. I would not be suprised if he didn't retun next year refreshed and in form.

I, for one, would love to see DC back in the hunt for a few trophys.

 

[bladeplayer]

Almost everyone else was playing in a different set of conditions.

...

????????????????????????????????????????????????
This part amazes me . did he play at 4am or 9pm on his own ? Barry you surprise me with this statement

 

[Naybrains]

Put simply, I think Clarke is - and always was - a spent force.

He's getting older and - up until the Iberdola tournament earlier this year - was always way back in the pack.

You have to remember that he was incredibly lucky at the Open. His first two rounds were played in such good conditions which then totally fell apart for everyone else. I know that everyone wants him to do well as a home player of sorts, but it amazes me how everyone overlooks the fortune he had with the weather. Almost everyone else was playing in a different set of conditions.

I just think that he really lucked out at the Open - and since then his backwards movement in the game has been exposed.

Sorry to be harsh but it's the beginning of the end...

 

[Ethan]

Complete crock of steaming you know what from Barry, which is unusual for him.

Clarke didn't reverse in to that Open win, he grabbed it early and held on despite challenges from a few players that even Barry would agree can play a bit. He fully deserved that win.

But he has always been a streaky player, and after some down time over Christmas and New Year, he may well come back re-energised and keen to prove that the Open win was not a swan song.

 

[brendy]

What Barry also doesnt realise is the amount of time taken up by all of the trappings and pitfalls that come with being a major winner. Gmac said it, even Rory has mentioned it too, the couldnt/cant wait for the end of their year so someone else might possibly have to spend so much time in media rooms, galas, dinners and sponsor related dealings.
Clarkeys reputation as a jolly fella only playing for the beer money is so so wrong. Before and after winning hte Open this year, he has been the first on and last off the practice areas. Burnt out, no, just plain knackered... yes.

 

[RGDave]

Hold on a mo. Surely DC was at his peak a good few years ago and the terrific open victory was a well deserved late in the day type of moment. As much as I like him, it's hard to expect this sort of performance week in week out.

 

[barrybridges]

Annoyingly I just got logged out for taking too long to reply.

I didn't mean to open a can of worms, but I stand by what I said.

If you look at the stats, they don't lie:

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/players/playerid=5889/statistics/index.html

Since 2004, almost all of his stats are going backwards: driving distance, putts, stroke average.

If you temporarily erase his winnings from the Open, he'd be way down the Race to Dubai with around 350k of winnings this year; putting him in around 80th place.

Look at his results all year:

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/players/playerid=5889/results/index.html

There are some pretty big numbers in there and have been all year.

I'm not taking anything away from him. Clearly he's a top bloke who's been through hell off the course in recent years, and deserves all the success that comes his way.

However, I just think you need to look at his performances in context. His win at the Open was an unexpected high in an otherwise inconsistent season. His win at the Iberdrola Open came in a field missing most of the top 50 Race to Dubai contenders.

At the Open, his 3rd round teed off just as the wind and rain was dying down; he'd basically won it on days 1 and 2 because the weather then blocked others from catching him. Look at the scorecard:

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2011/tournamentid=2011049/leaderboard/index.html

Other than two other players, no-one came close in round 3. Not because of ability, but because low scores were so difficult in the conditions. On average, 3rd round scores were 5 strokes higher than rounds 1 and 2. Yes, I accept he played well on those days, but he was lucky to avoid an onslaught in the later rounds because other players had to contend with terrible weather; by virtue of being a later tee-off time he'd avoided the worst of it. Most scores are 73+ - you would expect there to be a bigger range.

I'm not knocking the guy - I would kill just to have 1/1000th of his talent - but at the same time you can't elevate someone onto a pedestal and ask what's happened to him by reference to one performance during the year. Other than the Open he's played badly by his own standards - which have been slipping since 2004.

Something's just not right.

 

[barrybridges]

What Barrybridges fails to appreciate is half of the field played in exactly the same conditions as Darren did on the first 2 days so any luck involved was also had by all those others in the same half of the draw. Much the same as Louis the year before, he had the break with the weather but he wasn't out there playing on his own at those times, he just used it to his advantage the most. Has to be up there in the forum awards as "most drivel in one post".

I note that - and I agree that on day 1 and 2 he was the better player. However, by day 3 it was difficult for anyone to catch him because the weather totally killed the scoring. Scores on Day 3 were 5 strokes higher on average for all players than the first two days, so his well-developed lead was pretty much unassailable.

I'm not taking anything away from his achievement: but I do think you should ignore the fact he's a British player and be objective. He WAS very lucky that the weather scuppered his opponents so badly.

Day 1 low score - 65 - High score - 75
Day 2 low score - 67 - High score - 75
Day 3 low score - 68 - High score - 83
Day 4 low score - 68 - High score - 83