TG_342_PREVIEW

BEERS,
BIRDIES
& BANTER
TG spent a day quizzing best mates Darren Clarke and
Lee Westwood. Some of the answers were safe to print...
WORDS ROB Mc GARR PICTURES HOWARD BOYLAN, GETTY IMAGES
ee Westwood and Darren Clarke (or
L ‘Wetwood’ and ‘Clarkey’ as they refer
to each other) have been close friends
for longer than Jordan Spieth has been alive.
They’re always on hand when there’s an
opportunity to mock the other, the barbecue is
being lit or a nice cold beer is cracked open.
But it’s not all jokes and jibes. They are the
second most successful partnership in Ryder
Cup history, taking down the likes of Tiger
Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Jim Furyk,
Mark O’Meara and Tom Lehman, among others.
Clarke has a Major under his belt – the 2011
Open at Royal St George’s – while Westwood is
a former world number one.
Get the two of them together and set the tape
recorder running and the result is an
entertaining insight into their relationship with
each other and the game they both love. And
some of it was even safe to print…
Who hits it the furthest out of the two of you?
DC: Him. I’m older than him, though.
LW: It’s debatable, really.
DC: We used to be very similar.
LW: We’re probably such good Ryder Cup
partners – especially foursomes – because we
hit it almost exactly the same distance.
And who’s got the better short game?
LW: Him, no question. He’s got a short game.
That puts him streets ahead.
DC: I’ll take the Fifth Amendment on this one!
LW: I’m better at putting from long range.
Especially around bunkers…
DC: He’s better at putting in all respects. If
there’s a big important putt, we’d want him on it.
Who’s stronger in the gym?
LW: There’s not a lot in it, really.
DC: We’d be pretty close. We’ve both had our
spells of getting bigger, getting stronger and
all that.
What’s the strongest part of your game?
DC: Mental.
LW: [Interrupting] He is. He is mental.
DC: [Laughs] The strongest part of my game
➔
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