The Golf Blog: Darren Clarke wins British Open, 1st major, after Mickelson and Johnson falter
The Golf Blog says: Darren Clarke is about to win his first major, The Open Championship. Joining fellow Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, Clarke was a sentimental favorite in England. Clarke lost his wife to breast cancer 5 years ago and has remained a fan favorite in the UK and around the world. Way to go, Clarkie!!
Sunday was not without a lot of drama for 14 holes. Besides the intermittent rain and wind, two Americans, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, made charges.
Phil Mickelson shot lights out for 10 holes–shooting 6-under in 10 holes and tying his low 9 holes in any major. At one point, Phil was even tied for the lead with Clarke at -5. But Clarke immediately eagled on top of Phil’s birdie. The rest of the back nine, Phil unraveled–missing a short 2-footer at 11 started the carnage for Phil. Phil went 4-over for 6 holes and became a non-factor in the back 9.
Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson made a charge while playing with Darren Clarke, cutting the lead to 1 shot after getting it to 6-under. But, after bombing his tee shot on the par 5 14th, Dustin hit a low-liner into the wind in the only place you can’t hit it–out of bounds on the right hand side. Dustin double bogeyed the hole. That was another costly mistake for Dustin in the final round of a major while in contention.
