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14 SPORT THE CIRCULAR Darren Clarke: A year of highs and lows By Regina Wall There are few golfers as popular as Darren Clarke. His great talent and warm personality have gained him many admirers and friends. On the eve of the US PGA championship last year when Clarke’s wife Heather lost her brave battle with cancer, they rallied to support him As a mark of respect, a number of players offered to pull out of the competition. His close friend Paul McGinley risked losing his place on the Ryder Cup team by pulling out of the ranking event to attend Heather’s funeral. “The support I got from Paul and everyone everywhere was unforgettable,” Clarke said at the time. It was his father who first introduced him to golf. “My father started playing golf when I was eleven, and I caddied for him and got the bug. I went from a thirty-six handicap to a thirteen the first year I played and from a thirteen to a “The support I got from everyone everywhere was unforgettable” three in the second. In the summer, I’d play seventy-two holes in a day. As soon as it got bright, I’d go out to practise.” Clarke is now recognised as one of the most talented golfers of his generation, winning 10 times on the European tour and earning over 10 million euro in prize money. When he returned to his locker room after beating Tiger Woods for the $1m prize in the final of the WGC World Match play Championships in 2000, there was a surprise waiting for him - a note left in his locker from Tiger Woods: “Congratulations. Be proud. PS You’re still a fucker.” Before last year’s Ryder Cup, he had hardly played since his wife’s death in August. The raw emotion portrayed over the three-day event made it one of the most memorable Ryder Cups to date. The arrival of Clarke lit up the first tee at the K Club “Nothing can compare with what I went through on that first tee.”There will Darren Clarke at the Ryder Cup never be a harder shot or hole for me to play.” What followed was an inspired Clarke, playing some of his finest golf. After winning his singles match, Clarke shared an emotional moment with opponent Tiger Woods, who lost his father, Earl, to cancer in May. The embrace offered the world a poignant glimpse into Clarke’s personal grief. “I knew it was going to be an emotional experience not least because Heather loved the Ryder Cup and wearing all the glamorous outfits, but looking back I never realised quite how emotional it would become.” After the Ryder Cup, Clarke went home to his two sons, aged eight and five. “My boys are my number one priority. They’re the heartbeat of my life” The death of his wife has put increased spotlight on his family and he wants to spend as much time with his sons as possible. “I have been occupying my time with my sons, Tyrone and Conor, as we all readjust our lives.” Clarke took a break from the European tour towards the end of last year but has recently began “This year is a fresh start for me” playing again. He hopes to find a balance between being a single father and a professional sportsman. He still has ambitions to fulfil in 2007. “The majors are very important to me. I’ve had a difficult time the past few years trying to concentrate fully on golf but this year is a fresh start .” Away from the course, he has his own foundation, which helps to raise money to help fight the disease that killed his wife. The Darren Clarke Foundation was set up in 2002 to help Irish junior golf and discover the Irish stars of the future. “Through the foundation I can try and give back to all those people who supported Heather through her illness, and hopefully we can raise a tidy sum of money to help people who need it most.” Darren Clarke looks back on 2006 as a year which had highs but will be remembered for his loss. He has shown courage and bravery throughout difficult times. The return of the ‘Big D’ to winning ways at the Masters in Augusta, would seal his comeback on the competitive circuit, which has missed his unique and flamboyant style. PROFILE: NAME: Darren Christopher Clarke BORN: 14-08-68, Dungannon, Northern Ireland VITAL STATS: 6ft 2in, 15 stone PROFESSION:Turned pro in 1990 TITLES: 15, including World Match Play 2000, European Open ‘01, NEC Invitational ‘03. RYDER CUP WINS:‘97,‘02, ‘04,‘06 WORLD RANKING: 38 OBSCURE FACT: reported to spend 25,000 pounds sterling a year on cigars.
THE CIRCULAR SPORT 15 Golden Oldie Stephen O’Farrell spoke to Ronnie Delany about winning Olympic Gold and the state of athletics today As Ronnie Delany walked along the north quays in Dublin he was confronted by a man asking him if he was Ronnie Delany, the famous runner. When he replied that he was, the man said to him: “You know what, I never saw anyone get so much bloody mileage out of winning a medal”. The man had a point to “The press had written me off. Landy was the favourite” Before the Olympics, Delany wasn’t given much hope of any success by the Irish media. “Jumbo, my teamates and my father were probably the only ones everything I had. Within 10 yards I was in the lead and going away from the field. I knew nobody was going to pass me; my legs were pumping, tired but not going to stable and respected career awaited him in an otherwise very poor 1950’s Ireland. Delany realised soon after joining the army, however, that he would have to choose his America” he says. “I was convinced that I was destined to be a great athlete”. Delany still keeps a keen eye on what’s happening on the track today and he is concerned. “Drugs is the big issue, it is a serious danger. With such money and sponsorship of course greed enters the equation. Greed, not only in the athlete with the talent; but the greedy manager, coach, and doctor, who want to improve their reputation. When an athlete faces that much pressure and he’s not a moral person, he may take drugs.” “There is no simple solution either. If they don’t contain the drugs problem; it will spell the end of the Olympics. If it gets too dirty the big sponsors will walk away.” His eyes glaze over. “There is something very special, historic, and significant in being sent by your country to an Olympic Games. And this realisation comes to you as you participate in the opening ceremony before the eyes “I was convinced that I was destined to be a great athlete” “If they don’t contain the drugs problem; it will spell the end of the Olympics” an extent because 50 years after Delany won gold for Ireland in the Olympic 1,500 metres in Melbourne he is still being honoured. He recently received an honorary law degree from UCD and was awarded the freedom of the city in March alongside Bob Geldof. But such awards don’t just rest on a single medal. He is quick to point out that his gold in Melbourne is only one of his numerous achievements that he has had during a golden era for athletics. He was only the seventh man to run the mile in under four minutes, he went 40 indoor races unbeaten, a record that still hasn’t been surpassed to this day, and he became the first Irish athlete to win a medal at the European Championships when he took bronze. Ronnie Delany, after winning a gold medal at the Olympics in 1956 who gave me more than a snowball’s chance in hell. The press had written me off. Landy was the favourite.” Delany sits back in his chair getting comfortable before he continues. “It was difficult to remain calm beforehand but I tried as best I could, I knew every moment of anxiety used up valuable energy.” And on winning the actual race itself “About 150 yards from the finish, I opened up with give in to anybody. My heart swelled with joy as I approached the tape and as I burst through, I threw my arms wide in exultation. I could hardly believe I had won.” After being written off before the race, Delany ended up winning it by 10 feet. This is testament to an extraordinary self belief that he’d had since he was a youngster. After school he had been offered a cadetship in the army; a running or his career. To the disgust of his father, he chose the former. He was then successful in gaining a scholarship to Villanova University in Philadelphia where he met his coach Jumbo Elliot. Delany views both the facilities at Villanova and his coach, Jumbo Elliot, as integral factors in his success. “I wouldn’t have won the Olympics if I had not gone to of the world.” In a time when Ireland was a debt ridden country and low on self-esteem, Delany’s belief that he could be the best, made the Irish public believe in themselves. As Tony O’Reilly remarked in the introduction to Delany’s autobiography Staying the Distance, “It made us all feel, as a country, that we had achieved something unique, that we could compete against the best in the world”. But perhaps Bob Geldof put it best at the ceremony for the freedom of the city: ‘The Bus would go zipping past me and I’d dash after it and the conductor would lean out and say “Ronnie Delany, wha” How do you share a stage with someone who has become an expression’ I never saw a nation get so much bloody mileage out of one medal.
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Page 11 and 12: THE CIRCULAR MEDIA AND MUSIC 11 Get
Page 13: THE CIRCULAR SPORT 13 Time to move

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