Clarke gets Andersen call-up

DARREN CLARKE'S upwardly-mobile graph was, in many ways, confirmed yesterday when he was handed a place in the Andersen Consulting World Championship, the tournament with the richest purse in golf.

The Ulsterman will make his debut appearance in the event when he meets Bernhard Langer in one quarter-final of the European regional qualifying at The Buckinghamshire, near Denham in England, next May.

With the Ryder Cup earmarked as his priority for the season, Clarke was nonetheless delighted when confirmation of his inclusion in the eight-man European section reached him yesterday. Clarke, who had delayed his departure to this week's Turespana Masters Open Canarias because his wife was unwell, was actually on the practice range with his coach, Peter Cowan, at Mere Golf Club, where he is the touring professional, when word arrived.

"It's a nice bonus to get into an elite field like this one - I consider it a reward for playing good golf," said Clarke. "I've admired Bernhard for a long time and have played with him on four or five occasions in the closing stages of tournaments. He is a great player, but I have nothing to fear. I'll look forward to the match."

Clarke, Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Sam Torrance, who is defending his European title, Costantino Rocca and Jesper Parnevik are the seven confirmed entries (based on the world rankings on January 5th), with one invitee to be added to the list later this week.

The European championship is scheduled to take place at The Buckinghamshire on May 19th and 20th - sandwiched between the English Open and the Volvo PGA Championship - and features single-elimination matchplay competition. The winner will join other regional winners from Japan, the United States and the International section in the grand final at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scotssdale, Arizona, on January 3rd and 4th next.

The Andersen has total prize money of $3.65 million and the overall winner will scoop a jackpot prize of $1 million. Greg Norman is the defending champion, having defeated Scott Hoch on the 36th hole in the final last January.

Hajime Meshial has already booked his ticket to Scottsdale thanks to his win in the Japanese championship earlier this month. The US championship takes place at the Reynolds Plantation in Georgia in May and the International championship is planned for Blackwolf Run, Wisconsin, in July.