Local favorite Clarke makes bright start at damp Portrush
- by Leland Aguilar
- in Entertaiment
- — Jul 19, 2019
The golfer told reporters Tuesday that he's "not quite as sharp" as he'd like to be heading into the British Open, which tees off Thursday at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
"Mr. Slumbers asked me about three weeks ago if I would do them the honor of hitting the opening tee shot", said Clarke earlier in the week.
It's an open-ended process that could prove laborious, but the 34-year-old from Dusseldorf will jump at any chance to join the fray.
Former Open champion Darren Clarke has relived former glories in front of an adoring home crowd after taking an early lead in the 148th championship.
Said one fan arriving at the course on Wednesday: "This here is exactly what I wanted to see... a real test".
The 49-year-old said on social media he has shed 15lbs after a six-day fast that saw him drink water and a "special coffee blend" before arriving in Northern Ireland. "This course has been a big part of my upbringing and it's sort of surreal now that the Open's and these great players are here".
The Golf Channel and NBC (live in most markets) are two of 95-plus live-TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
"Portrush is just a fantastic golf course I think it's one of the best courses I've ever played fullstop".
"To have played a small role, I guess, in kind of getting the gears in motion again to get The Open Championship back here, I mean, it's a proud moment to see it come together". He was paired with Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland for the first two days of the event. "The biggest impact this tournament has outside of sport, outside of everything else, is the fact that people are coming here to enjoy it and have a good time and sort of forget everything else that sort of goes on".
If the Claret Jug is to end up in new hands come Sunday evening, American US Open champion Gary Woodland, Spain's John Rahm and Australian Adam Scott are a trio that could easily contend.
But he already has a mountain to climb as he made a disastrous start to his title bid at the first hole - the 421 yard par four - where he was forced to accept two penalty shots.
His chip left him with a lengthy putt to save par but he was short and ensured he went to five-over par, placing him one off the bottom of the leaderboard after three holes. The second shot is uphill and the landing area narrows as you get nearer a green that has plenty of undulations. He played like it for much of the day on Thursday, too.
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