Canny Darren Clarke well primed for Ryder Cup test

1.1666670-212446066 — Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood celebrate winning the Ryder Cup in 2006 after beating the US in Ireland. Image Credit: Gulf News archives

Abu Dhabi : With the ferocious rivalry, dramatic denouements and febrile atmospheres it conjures up every two years, golf’s Ryder Cup is firmly established as one of the finest pieces of sporting theatre and hence needs no extra hype.

But, despite it being eight months until the United States and Europe lock horns in their very own battle on the greens, prospective protagonists for both sides have been unable to resist stoking the flames for another incendiary encounter.

Two leading Americans at the recent Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, namely this year’s winner Rickie Fowler and the world number one Jordan Spieth, did not disguise their determination — desperation, even — to thwart Europe’s bid to win the event for a record fourth time.

Fowler, 27, said his teammates would be “fired up” for the September 30-October 2 showdown at Hazeltine, while Spieth stressed that “it’s a huge goal this year for me, and possibly at the very top of the list”.

That’s some statement, when you consider the 22-year-old Texan will be defending his US Masters and US Open titles and aiming to win a gold medal for his country when golf makes its Olympic Games debut at Rio 2016. With Spieth among 10 Americans in the world’s top 20 as opposed to Europe’s four, most of them thrusting 20-somethings, Davis Love III’s side will be formidable opposition on home soil.

But so, too, will be their opponents, whose unbreakable team spirit and matchplay magnificence have seen them sweep to victory eight times in the last 10 stagings of the event. They will also be led by a passionate new captain, Darren Clarke, who was on the winning side four times in five Ryder Cup outings as a player.

Relishing the task

The 47-year-old Northern Irishman is therefore relishing “the overwhelming task in front of us” against impassioned rivals bristling with youthful vigour.

“The Americans are a very strong, young team, but in saying that we’re going to have a very strong team as well,” Clarke said, speaking at a media event held by tournament sponsors HSBC at the Abu Dhabi golf showpiece. “I think it’s building up to be a really, really exciting Ryder Cup. America are desperate to win the Ryder Cup as much as we are to retain it. Davis Love will be doing everything he can to help them do this and I will be doing the same.”

The 2011 British Open champion made his captaincy bow when Europe eased to an emphatic 18.5-5.5 victory against Asia in the EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur last month.

But while the Asians are well short of the exalted level of the Americans and Europe were without key players such as the world number three Rory McIlroy, Clarke insisted the experience had been invaluable both for him and his largely callow side.

“Quite a few of the guys got their first taste of team golf and they all enjoyed it,” he said. “The atmosphere we had with team golf was very impressive and some guys who hadn’t been with us before worked so hard.”

Among those impressing Clarke was Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg, the world number 67 — “he’s a hell of a player” — who had been an unknown quantity to the Ulsterman. “I was told by the other players he was quite shy, but when he got into the team room he was completely different and relaxed and got into everything such as table tennis.”

Clarke, too, impressed, according to two Ryder Cup stalwarts who were part of the EurAsia Cup triumph, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. “He was good,” Westwood, who boasts seven Ryder Cup wins from nine appearances since 1997, told Gulf News. “I thought he was very professional. He did a few things differently to other captains I’ve played under. He had statistics on every player and matched them with players who have similar games. “I think that was a good idea.”

The 42-year-old Englishman, who attended an Abu Dhabi Golf Club event with Poulter to sample Michelin Star chef Tom Sellers’ Golf Story menu, added: “I think all the players got on really well with him. He built relationships with all the players. It’s lovely prep for Darren in terms of being able to manage the team room and being able to see how certain players play,” Westwood’s fellow Englishman, Poulter, a four-time Ryder Cup winner, added to Gulf News.

Lovely trial run

“What you’ve got was a lovely trial run for a lot of players who could potentially make that team, so it was very valuable for Darren to have that team room, to be control of it and see how it planned out.”

Meanwhile, Westwood agreed with Gulf News’ assertion that this could be one of the toughest Ryder Cup tests yet for Europe, given the power and pugnacity of the Americans on home soil.

How does he assess Spieth vis-a-vis Tiger Woods in his pomp?

“They’re two completely different players. I’ve played a fair bit with Jordan and he impresses me all the time. I think his attitude and the way he manages his game and thinks his way around the golf course is brilliant.”

But Europe also possess plenty of prodigious talents, including the 21-year-old English tyro, Matthew Fitzpatrick, the 2015 British Masters champion who also played in the EurAsia Cup.

“He has no real, apparent weaknesses to his game. He hits the ball well, his short game’s good, he putts great, he’s good under pressure,” said Westwood, of the man he partnered to an emphatic 5&4 foursomes victory against Anirban Lahiri and Ashun Wu at the Glenmarie Country Club.

“There’s no reason he can’t become one of the best players in the world.

“The only thing at the moment is he’s a little young and small and slight, so he just needs to work on his fitness.”

With both sides awash with stars, the Americans hungry for revenge and the Europeans having history in their favour, expect more fireworks this autumn.

But with the cool and canny Clarke in their corner, Europe will be quietly confident of victory once more.

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