Clarke searching for form

Darren Clarke is hoping his selection as the 2016 European Ryder Cup captain will kick-start his form on the golf course.

The Northern Irishman has been win-less since his 2011 Open Championship victory at Royal St George’s, where he fought off the American duo of Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson to win by three strokes.

Recently, Clarke has had the weekend off on five of his last seven outings on the European Tour. However,he hopes to turn his fortunes around, starting with this week’s Joburg Open in South Africa.

“Obviously my own competitive instincts haven’t been too good of late,” the 43-year-old told europeantour.com.

“The captaincy might actually be a blessing in disguise in terms of my golf because it will take my mind away from practising too hard and I’ll have a lot of things to focus on. Hopefully it will help me play a little bit better.

“This year I don’t think the captaincy will make an awful lot of difference but I would imagine next year it would make a big difference in my playing schedule.”

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