Clarke – ‘maybe I’m trying too hard’

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June 30, 2009

Darren Clarke will tee off in the Open de France on Thursday, hopeful he’ll rediscover his best form in time for the Open.

Darren Clarke will tee off in the Open de France on Thursday, hopeful he’ll rediscover his best form in time for the Open.
The European Ryder Cup star has endured a tough start to the year so far, finishing 44th in his best finish on the US PGA Tour and most recently missing the cut at the US Open.
But, as he steps up his preparations for the next major at Turnberry on July 16, Clarke believes he can rise to the challenge, providing he can conquer the “mental side of things”.
“I got off to a poor start at the US Open, but hung on and then made couple of stupid mistakes in the first round and got my back to the wall. And then the second round just didn’t get going at all. It just wasn’t very good,” he told
Skysports.com at an event to promote EA SPORTS’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 game.
“Before the tournament I was very good and I was fortunate I was on the good side of the draw, but I still didn’t make the most of it, so I was disappointed to go over there and miss the cut.
“I’m particularly frustrated at the moment with my scoring, but it’s a time for patience, which is definitely not one of my virtues.
“I’m not unhappy with the way that I’m playing, though, and if I can get a little bit of confidence, I know I can go and play well anywhere.
“I’m in Paris this week and then the Scottish Open the week after so hopefully I can find a bit of form in these couple of weeks leading up to the Open.”
Clarke has certainly not lost hope, though, and is doing everything he can to get back into the swing of things.
“I’m still motivated. I’ve been practising as hard as I have ever done before,” Clarke added. “I’m working harder than ever and maybe I’ve gone a little bit obsessive about my practice and gone over the line.
“Maybe I’m practising too much, but that’s the desire and determination of me trying to play the way I want to play again.
“Whenever I’m at home I go to the course and do seven or eight hours a day. Some days I don’t even play, I’m just practicing.
“It’s just little bits and pieces I’ve been making silly mistakes with, trying to push too hard and going for things that I shouldn’t be and that is costing me shots.
“But one thing is for sure – I won’t give up. You’ve got to work.”
Darren Clarke appears in EA SPORTS Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, out on all formats this Friday including Wii, and incorporating Nintendo’s new Wii MotionPlus technology.
For further information, please visit http://tigerwoodspgatour.easports.com