Darren Clarke - The Jovial Champ

Reaching the age of ‘Champions’, the convivial Darren Clarke remains passionate about golf, and yes, Guinness stout.

- Tim Southwell

Darren Clarke has enjoyed quite a career. His 21 Tour victories include three PGA Tour wins. Out of the five Ryder Cups he played in, he was on the winning side four times. Most notable of all his Ryder Cup performances came six weeks after the passing of his wife Heather who died of breast cancer in 2006, aged just 39.

Clarke was distraught but, at the request of Heather before she passed, he turned up at the K-Club as one of Ian Woosnam’s captain’s picks. He won all three of his matches as Europe recorded a thumping 18.5-9.5 victory. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

To the surprise of many, but not himself, he achieved individual legendary status when he claimed the 2011 Open at Royal St George's with a three-shot win over Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

He captained the European Ryder Cup team as they prepared to defend the trophy in Minneapolis in 2016. It wasn’t Darren’s happiest hour. With a team overloaded with rookies, Europe fell to Davis Love III’s team 17-11.

Now, having turned 50 last year, Clarke has joined the Champions Tour in America, teeing it up with the likes of Tom Watson, Loren Roberts, Vijay Singh, Tom Lehman, Jesper Parnevik, Lee Janzen, Freddy Couples, John Daly, and old European Tour pals Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sandy Lyle, Miguel Angel Jimenez and his old foe Monty.

He is currently in 90th place with winnings just shy of $60,000 from the six events he has been eligible for since joining the Tour. Not a bad way to spend a so-called retirement.

GV: How is life on The Champions Tour?