IT wasn't quite the Ryder Cup, but Darren Clarke got an early taste of team competition yesterday when he joined forces with Ian Woosnam to win the Atlantico Cup at the Vilamoura Old Course on Portugal's Algarve coast.
Six of Europe's top players, including Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros, squared off in the 18-hole match, which finished with the Clarke-Woosnam partnership on eight-under par, claiming a one-shot win over Padraig Harrington and Costantino Rocca. Ballesteros and Thomas Bjorn finished four shots adrift in an event staged to celebrate the re-opening of the course.
"I drove the ball well off the tee and let Woosie do the rest," quipped Clarke. "It will be fantastic to play in this sort of format in September and to make Seve's team is definitely my target for the season.
"I've played in quite a lot of matchplay in my amateur days and we had a lot of fun out there today. The Ryder Cup will be a lot tougher and it won't be as relaxed, but I think the Europeans will have the best team to win."
Meanwhile, Harrington, who flies out with Clarke today to prepare for the Italian Open, was happy that he had corrected a minor fault in his game. "I played poorly towards the end of last week. I discovered I was too far behind the ball at impact and I needed to transfer my weight quicker. I'm happy I have rectified the problem," he said.
