The powerful and joyful Irishman Darren Clarke survived monsoon conditions that included a rain delay yesterday to shoot a one-under par 69 for a total of 270, ten under par, to win The Senior Open presented by Rolex and held at the historic Gleneagles in Scotland. He did so by just enough–one stroke over countryman Padraig Harrington. Clarke thereby became only the fourth pro golfer in history to have won both The (British) Open (in 2011) and The Senior Open to join the star-studded company of Gary Player, Bob Charles, and Tom Watson.
Clarke had a sigh of relief at the end as the hard-charging Harrington shot a six-under par 30 on his back nine, with his eagle putt on the last hole, a par five, just barely missing. Clarke made a fantastic, long, two-putt there for his birdie to win.
It was a real dog race that last nine holes as the 53-year old Clarke tenaciously held onto his slim lead with so many seniors chasing him like a bunch of young pups, nipping at his heels. At the end, six pros tied for third place, two strokes back.
And today, one of my favorite pros on the regular PGA Tour, Tony Finau, came from five strokes behind to win the 3M Open Championship at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, by three strokes over tournament leader Scott Piercy.
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