St. Andrews: British Open champion Darren Clarke is finding it difficult to motivate himself after his remarkable win at Royal St. George's in July.

"I've done what I've always wanted to do — got to the top of the mountain," Clarke told reporters yesterday on the eve of the Dunhill Links Championship. "So what else can compare to it?

"If you ask anybody if they've achieved their lifetime goal, they'll probably tell you ‘how do you keep going and going?'

"What else is there to do? I've achieved my lifetime goal. I've managed to win the tournament I've wanted to win from when I first started playing golf, the biggest and best tournament in the world.

"I've no idea how people like [five-time Olympic gold medallist] Steve Redgrave do it, keep going for more," Clarke said.

The 43-year-old Northern Irishman achieved his British Open dream at the 20th attempt.

"What else can compare to it? Winning it again would be good," Clarke said. "I'm in every major for the next five years, so I'm going to have more chances."

Another of Clarke's goals is to make a sixth Ryder Cup appearance. With a huge haul of points on offer this week in the event played with an amateur partner over three courses, St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, he is aware he can launch his Ryder Cup campaign in earnest this week.

"We're playing for an awful lot of prize money this week, Ryder Cup points and world ranking points," he said. "I would dearly love to make the [Ryder Cup] team next year and I want to give myself every chance I can to do that."

Love as playing skipper

Meanwhile, United States Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will try to play his way onto the team he will lead but European captain Jose Maria Olazabal will not tee it up next year at Medinah Golf Club if he qualifies for a spot.

While Love is eager to add a playing role to his duties, Olazabal, who represented Europe in seven Ryder Cups as a player, for three wins and a tie, said he wants no part of the action this time.

"I will be part of the team but not as a player," the Spaniard told reporters. "I gave my word that I was going to be captain and with that comes a lot of responsibility, a lot of things you have to do.

"I think the Ryder Cup has become the third biggest sporting event in the world.

"There are many things you have to do that week and I don't think that you can do both things at the same time. It's as simple as that."

Love has appeared in six Ryder Cups helping the Americans to victory in 1993 and 1999 but earned his last selection in 2004.