February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Darren Clarke shot a 9-under-par 63 on Sunday to win the Volvo Masters by two strokes over Andrew Coltart in Montecastillo, Spain. Despite the victory, Clarke was unable to lay claim to the top spot on the Order of Merit. That honor went to Colin Montgomerie, whose third-place finish lifted him to victory in the money race, with Clarke the runner-up.
Clarke birdied four of his first five holes on Sunday en route to his 63. He had seven birdies for the round, plus a double eagle on the par-5, 517-yard ninth hole. This was the second time he achieved the feat in this tournament, having done likewise on Thursday. His card showed no bogeys. The 63 tied a course record set by Per-Ulrik Johansson. Clarke’s earlier rounds were completed with scores of 67, 73 and 68.
Clarke earned £166,000 on Sunday, increasing his total European winnings for 1998 to £902,867.10. Montgomerie received £63,000 for his play in Spain, pushing his ’98 total to £993,077.45. Westwood, who fell out of contention with a 75 on Sunday, finished third on the Order of Merit at £814,386.74.
Montgomerie earned a bonus of £170,000 for finishing on top, while Clarke’s second-place status earned him an additional £120,000. Clarke also won the Stroke Average Award for the year, with a low number of 69.45 to 69.66 for Montgomerie.
The only two other Irishmen to tee off at Montecastillo were Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, who finished tied for 16th and 19th places, respectively. Harrington finished at 281 (70-69-70-72) and McGinley at 282 (68-72-69-73). Harrington occupied 29th position on the Order of Merit with £208,013.74. McGinley was right behind at 30th with £201,970.38.
Sign up to The Irish Echo Newsletter
Others on the Order of Merit were Philip Walton, 64th (£101,465.22); Eamonn Darcy, 102nd (£62,571.99); John McHenry, 103rd (£61,396.25); Des Smyth, 114th (£53530.98); Raymond Burns, 158th (£16,563.67); Christy O’Connor Jr.,168th (£14,440.00); David Higgins, 182nd (£9,514.57); Francis Howley, 195th (£5,305.75); Ronan Rafferty, 198th (£4,564.00); Cameron Clark, 208th (£2,170.00), and Stephen Hamill, 224th (£960).
PGA Tour qualifying
John Kernohan and Keith Nolan assured themselves of spots in the PGA Tour’s Q-School later this month. The pair made it through the second stage of qualifying, from which 23 golfers advanced from two sites to the final stage. Kernohan, who played the Nike Tour in 1998, tied for ninth place in his group with a score of 279 (70-67-70-72) at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C. The bottom score to advance from this group was 282. Nolan, meanwhile, was at Deerwood Golf Club in Kingswood, Texas, where he squeezed by with a 283 (72-73-66-72), which was good for a 17th-place tie. The bottom score to move on from this bracket was 284. Nolan played the PGA Tour in 1998.