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Clarke Sacks His Open-Winning Caddie
Clarke Sacks His Open-Winning Caddie
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Darren Clarke has parted company with caddie John Mulrooney, the man with whom he won the Open Championship at the age of 42 at Royal St George’s last summer.
The Ulsterman, who had employed Mulrooney for less than a year, took the decision after missing the halfway cut at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday.
Clarke had opened the first event on the European Tour’s Middle East Swing with a level-par 72 but followed that with an 81 to finish well down the field.
Now 43, Clarke has struggled with his game since recording his memorable major triumph in Kent, where he claimed the Claret Jug by three shots from American duo Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
He hasn’t managed a top-ten finish since that victory and in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda towards the end of last year he was left trailing in the wake of the other three 2011 major winners.
According to ISM, Clarke’s management company, the split with Mulrooney is amicable and the player will spend some time weighing up his options for a replacement.
Despite the statement, media speculation is that the pair had a bust up in Bermuda and now Mulrooney, who had worked earlier with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jose Maria Olazabal, has found himself seeking a new employer just four events into the new European Tour season
Having decided not to play in either Qatar or Dubai, Clarke’s next competitive outing will be the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona at the end of February.
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