Clarke one stroke off lead in Japan
Darren Clarke, buoyed by an unlikely eagle at the par-four fifth hole, charged to within one stroke of leader Kaname Yokoo after the third round at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament today.
Clarke found his swing on the practice range and proceeded to compile the day’s best score, a six-under-par 65, to head a strong European challenge at Phoenix Country Club.
“A 65 was the worst possible score I could have shot today with the chances I had,” said the Ulsterman after finishing in style with an eagle at the par-five 18th.
Japan’s Yokoo birdied the last to card 69 and take the lead at 13-under-par 200 with one round left.
Clarke was alone on 201, while Myanmar’s Zaw Moe (68) was three strokes off the lead after birdies at the final four holes.
Spaniard Sergio Garcia (69) was four strokes behind Yokoo, while England’s Justin Rose (70) and American David Duval (67) trailed by five.
Tiger Woods (69) left himself with an uphill battle, eight strokes off the pace after missing a 10-foot eagle putt at the final hole.
Clarke revealed how he had sought advice from his coach and manager after losing his first-round lead yesterday.
“I swung very poorly yesterday so I went down to the range for a couple of hours afterwards and worked really hard on my posture,” he said.
“One of my recurring bad habits is I end up standing too far away from the ball and than I have a lot of lateral movement.
“I addressed that yesterday afternoon with the help of (manager) Chubby Chandler and my caddie Billy Foster.
“We worked for quite some time and all of a sudden it felt better.”
Clarke parred the first four holes before holing out with a seven-iron from 154 yards at the fifth hole for eagle.
With his swing in the groove and his confidence burgeoning, he picked up three more birdies before stumbling with a bogey at the 15th.
But he more than made up for that with another eagle at the par-five 18, where he hit a soft five-wood to 20 feet and curled the sharply-breaking putt into the hole dead centre.
Ulsterman Graeme McDowell, who played with Woods, did not disgrace himself with a 70 which left him equal 17th, 10 strokes off the lead.
Lee Westwood, the third member of the group, endured a miserable day.
He bogeyed the first three holes en route to a 74 which left him 13 strokes behind at level par.
Rose injured his upper back on the range before the round, and he needed massage treatment after coming off the course.
He admitted the injury had hindered his swing but was not ruling himself out of contention ahead of the final round.
“I didn’t feel at full power but it wasn’t a major problem,” said Rose.
“Hopefully it won’t affect me too much tomorrow.”
