Clarke a proven horse for course

There are two ways of looking at the Volvo Masters, the traditional finale to the PGA European Tour's season. One is of the pessimist who argues that the glass is half-empty, with the leading two players in the Order of Merit, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, both absent, along with last year's champion, Fredrik Jacobson, who has done the unthinkable and decided not to defend his title.

The other is that of the optimist, that the glass is half-full, with all 12 members of Europe's winning Ryder Cup team in the field.

For much of this year, Colin Montgomerie was burdened with negativity, almost as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders as he tried to sort out his personal problems as well as play golf. Yet, Monty, the only player in the 54-man field in the 3.75 million tournament with a top prize of 625,000 who has won here, is more optimist than pessimist these days.

"I think we're set up for another great finale to the European season. It's fantastic all 12 Ryder Cup players are here competing, it should end up a great event."

Of course, the Scot's right. Also, though, he knows that he has a start on most others as soon as he steps onto the first tee. Montgomerie - who has won this event over this course in 1993 and shared it (controversially, when fading light meant they could play only two holes of sudden death) with Bernhard Langer two years ago - is one of those who knows this course fits his eye. Which is not the case for everyone, and certainly not for each of the four Irish players who have qualified.

Of the quartet of Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley, only Clarke - looking for his first win of the season, a statistic that has not blotted his resume since the 1997 season - has what could be called a genuine fondness for a course that Montgomerie, for one, believes is "quite rightly ranked number one in Europe".

Part of the appeal to Clarke is that it is just so tough.

"It's hard. Just very, very hard," said Clarke, who has two top-10 finishes here, including runner-up to Montgomerie in 1993. "If you miss on the wrong side of the green, or miss the flag on the wrong side, you're really struggling to get up and down. Miss the fairway and you're also struggling.

"That's Valderrama. But the more difficult the course, the more I tend to enjoy it. You've got to work your way around it, you can't just stand up there and hit it."

Normally, that type of course would suit Harrington - one of the most cerebral players on tour - better than anyone. Yet, he has always struggled at Valderrama whenever the Volvo Masters has been played here.

"It's a course that should suit me," agreed the Dubliner, who had further treatment on his so-called dodgy digit (his thumb) from his travelling sports therapist Dale Richardson. "I like the type of putts you get on the greens here. The difficulty is in hitting the fairways out here in the crosswinds. You've probably got the narrowest fairways on tour of the year.

"It's a tough golf course. If you don't get it into play off the tee, then that's where the second shots become really difficult. Without a doubt, it's a course that you learn from each year. I've played it enough now at this stage to know it well enough."

Harrington is not alone in trying to figure out how to play the course. McGinley, too, is keen to discover a way to conquer it.

"I've never played well here and I don't know why," said McGinley. "I just find it a difficult golf course. I've never performed well on it and that has been a disappointment to me. Maybe this year? My game is alright, but I don't have thoughts of winning it, because I haven't played well on this course. It's just a case of having a different strategy this week and trying to get myself around and maybe have a decent performance here for once."

For McGinley, there is a subplot in that he needs to move from 19th on the money list in to the top-15 to earn an exemption into next year's US Open. "That's the only thing concerning me. I've played great this year and yet I'm still 19th on the Order of Merit which shows you the level and the standard that's on tour," he added.

McDowell, in only his second Volvo Masters, can focus purely on attempting to win the tournament, as he has already secured his berths in the US Open and the British Open. "This season has exceeded all of my expectations," said the 25-year-old, who is sixth in the Order of Merit. "I've always dreamed of getting to the level of consistency where, even on weeks when I'm not striking the ball as well as I can, I can still be in touch with the leaders. That's a test of how good my short game has become and how well my mental ability has become."

With Els, who has already wrapped up the Order of Merit title, and Goosen - who can be overtaken as number two by Harrington should the Irishman win this week - missing, the presence of all 12 members of the European Ryder Cup winning team is a boost. Logic, and certainly sentiment, would suggest that one of them could emerge as the winner. As Harrington put it, "this is a big event, certainly right at the top of the European Tour events. You've got the quality of the golf course, but everything about the tournament puts it up on a pedestal and it is a big event to win. It would mean a lot to me to win."

He's not alone in thinking that way. The hard part, as those who have played Valderrama know only too well, is actually conquering the course.