THE SENIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 24, 2022

Darren Clarke

PGA Centenary at Gleneagles

Press Conference

Q. Thanks for joining us, Senior Open champion. Tell us how it feels?

DARREN CLARKE: Yeah, awesome. You know, I've made no secret of the fact that I wanted to win this more than anything. From when I turned 50, this is the one you wanted to win, so I could set it beside the other one. Pretty good feeling right now.

Q. There's a very select group of players to have done The Open, Senior Open double. What does it mean to put your name alongside those?

DARREN CLARKE: Obviously very privileged. Very privileged to get my name on The Open trophy and the Claret Jug, and now to get my name on this one as well and go beside some legends of the game. I feel very humbled and very honoured.

Q. How tough was it to gauge the conditions?

DARREN CLARKE: Yeah, it's what I grew up playing in. Don't make it any easier, but you know at the start, it was a bit of a battle. Pars were almost a prisoner at the very start, and you're trying to avoid making mistakes. And I was pretty much cruising until I made a terrible swing on No. 10, my second shot. All of a sudden, I turned an easy birdie into a bad bogey.

So you know from there, keep my head down, hit some really good shots after that again. Kept giving myself chances but the putter was a little bit cold all week as you probably saw. I didn't really hole anything of note this week but whenever I had to do it on 18 there, whenever I had to get one up close there, I managed to do it.

Q. About 70 feet on the last?

DARREN CLARKE: I had grown up playing links. That's no big deal, isn't it. We all know that.

I did that, something similar, last year in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to win on the Champions Tour, a big long putt short of the green up off a tier and what-have-you, and got that one up-and-down, too, to win.

It just seemed -- at the time, seemed the percentage shot going up a slope. Didn't want any spin on it and no point trying to chip it with anything. So on the ground in front of me, it was dry and pretty tight.

Q. Still, the stress left?

DARREN CLARKE: Listen, as 2-footers go or whatever it was, foot and a half, still got to knock that in. But yes, it was nice to get it up pretty close.

Q. You had a memorable celebration after 2011. How will this one be?

DARREN CLARKE: This doesn't hold as much (laughter) but I'll have a few celebratory drinks tonight. As I said, to win the tournament I always wanted to win, The Open Championship, and then to win this one as a senior, this is the one I wanted to win more than anything. I feel.

Very fortunate to have been able to have done it. Fulfilling your dreams is a very lucky thing, and I've been able to do it a few times in my career.