Clarke hunts the double

One could almost hear the switch-over to auto-pilot as Tony Johnstone prepared to drive off the first tee at Druids Glen yesterday. "You'd be looking down my exhaust pipe," he teased Darren Clarke, who was crouched nearby. The subject was fast cars, one of the trappings of tournament riches.

But when it came to talking golf, there was a refreshing realism about Clarke's approach to the impending challenge, as the leading "home" contender for the Irish Open title. Not for him the convenient fall-back about crowd expectations making it a fearsome prospect.

"There are the majors and then about five other top tournaments," he said. "The Irish Open is among those and I'm here to win it. Sure, there is additional pressure this week, but only because of how much the title would mean to me."

He explained: "It's my national open - that says it all. And it would be a bit special to complete the amateur and professional double." Clarke, of course, won the Irish Close title in 1990.

By his own estimation, Clarke's game is "all right" at the moment. But he is basically only gearing himself back into action after a week at home, watching the World Cup. "Mentally, the US Open took a lot more out of me than I imagined," he said. "But I'm now ready to go and I'll be doing plenty of links work next week in preparation for the British Open at Birkdale."

In 1976, when Gary Player made his lone Irish Open appearance, finishing eighth behind Ben Crenshaw, he came into the media centre saying: "You must have wonderful players in this country." Why, we asked eagerly. "Because I don't see any of them on the practice ground," came the acid reply.

Whatever about the truth of that assessment 22 years ago, it certainly doesn't apply to the current crop of Irish players. They were busy at work yesterday, from those, like Clarke, who would appear to have a secure future in the game, to those like David Higgins and Francis Howley, still striving for a breakthrough.

But on a wider level, even Player would be forced to admire the stoicism of Nick Faldo. "I love it still," he said simply of a game that has given him much grief since his last tournament victory in the Los Angeles Open 15 months ago. "The day that disappears, I'll be holding press conferences down by the river."

As he walked off the 18th green which, incidentally, he reached with a two-iron second shot, Faldo was met by Hugo Flinn, owner of Druids Glen. "We took your criticism of last year on board and we hope the greens are now to your liking," he said. To which Faldo replied: "The greens are first class."

Before arriving at Druids Glen, he took his latest helicopter visit to Bartra Island off the north Mayo coast, where he may yet realise his dream of an Irish links. "We're still negotiating, but we've got a long way to go," he said.

One of his playing partners in today's pre-tournament pro-am is Mervyn Owens, the 17-year-old former Munster Boys champion from Mallow, who won the Irish section of the Faldo Junior Series last year. In fact, Owens' eventual achievement in claiming runner-up position in the grand final earned him a trip to Orlando, where he was tutored by his idol.

As to his own game, Faldo admitted with classic understatement: "Obviously things aren't going to plan and the video camera has become my best friend."

Then, with an optimism so characteristic of an infuriating game, he concluded: "It's just around the corner." His many Irish admirers will be hoping he's right.