Sportmanship is alive & well in the professional game...
Hats off to Darren Clarke for a gesture of sportmanship during the final round of the Irish Open yesterday. The tournament was held over to Monday due to bad weather - Clarke, leading the tournament at the time, had just driven his ball on the long par 4 9th hole into deep & boggy rough when the hooter went.
The following morning when returning to his marked ball he found it sitting nicely up on grass which had clearly been trampled down by some overenthusiastic Irish golf fan (or who knows maybe a leprechaun). Rather than hitting a straightforward shot to the green, Clarke decided not to take advantage of the improved lie & simply chipped the ball back to the fairway and ended making bogey.
Unfortunately this shot would cost him dear but its good to see genuine sportsmanship with a lot at stake.
Hats off to Darren Clarke for a gesture of sportmanship during the final round of the Irish Open yesterday. The tournament was held over to Monday due to bad weather - Clarke, leading the tournament at the time, had just driven his ball on the long par 4 9th hole into deep & boggy rough when the hooter went.
The following morning when returning to his marked ball he found it sitting nicely up on grass which had clearly been trampled down by some overenthusiastic Irish golf fan (or who knows maybe a leprechaun). Rather than hitting a straightforward shot to the green, Clarke decided not to take advantage of the improved lie & simply chipped the ball back to the fairway and ended making bogey.
Unfortunately this shot would cost him dear but its good to see genuine sportsmanship with a lot at stake.
Hat off to Darren for his sportmanship.
Even after the bogey he was still one shot clear of the rest of the field so I don't think it was that bogey that cost him dear. Simply his game was not as good as that of the quy who won on the day.
Even after the bogey he was still one shot clear of the rest of the field so I don't think it was that bogey that cost him dear. Simply his game was not as good as that of the quy who won on the day.
Yeah true he did lose by 2 in the end but who knows how things might have panned out, he took 4 to get down from near the green on 18 which might not have happened, we'll never know! It did cost him a share of 2nd place though which is very costly in terms of Ryder Cup points etc...
Yeah true he did lose by 2 in the end but who knows how things might have panned out, he took 4 to get down from near the green on 18 which might not have happened, we'll never know! It did cost him a share of 2nd place though which is very costly in terms of Ryder Cup points etc...
Daren Clark will play in the Ryder cup either through automatic qualification or as a captain's pick.
I'm sure Clarke saw what the golf world did to Monty last year when Monty took the opposite path and greatly improved his lie after a delay in play.:naughty:
A tip of the hat to Darren for not blemishing his sterling reputation.
I don't think DC reacted the way he did because he remembered the incidence with Monty but it was rather his love for the game and the respect for the fellow competitors.
I don't think DC reacted the way he did because he remembered the incidence with Monty but it was rather his love for the game and the respect for the fellow competitors.
Which may or may not say something about Colin Montgomerie. I'll never forget what happened at the 2002 Volvo Masters.
May 23rd, 2006, 04:45 AM
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