With all the aches, pains and other gym-induced physical ailments experienced by so many of his peers, Darren Clarke was thankful yesterday that his irregular excursions to such sweat-houses usually last no longer than it takes to boil an egg.

Indeed, the world number nine was probably well-advised to sneak back to his house in this stockbroker belt on the outskirts of London, where the height of his concerns was that his new computer software might pick up a virus.

In contrast, Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington were nursing discomforting injuries that were not what the doctor ordered on the eve of a tournament which carries £2 million sterling in prize-money. Although there is an old wives tale about the injured golfer being someone to fear, two of them - at least - would prefer to be injury-free. McGinley, hampered by an intercostal muscle injury picked up some weeks ago when he changed his gym routine to include working with a medicine ball, is taking strong painkillers so he can play. But he has decided to withdraw from next week's British Masters in order to rest it.

Harrington, who suffered a neck injury - to his trapezius muscle - working out in the gym on Monday last, restricted his play yesterday to some chipping and putting, with a few drives on the range in the evening, to protect a condition he described as "restricting, rather than painful".

Harrington's injury is similar to one that hampered him in last year's US PGA, but he has had some physiotherapy over the past few days and, although he "can't hit the ball as hard" as he would like, he expects it to be a nuisance rather than a severe hindrance.

Clarke has no such woes. He was in dire straits last Friday in Germany when he faced a missed cut in the TPC of Europe - a fate avoided when he covered his remaining seven holes on Saturday morning par-birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-par to complete a back-nine of 29.

But a phone call, in desperation, to Butch Harmon resulted in his coach dispatching son Claude to this side of the Atlantic for some remedial work on Clarke's swing. "I was hitting the ball in all directions and had to take some steps to fix it," he explained.

Butch analysed old footage of the player before Claude made the transatlantic trip, and the envoy also came armed with new software - "It's idiot proof," said Clarke - which enables him to record his swing with a camcorder, download it to Harmon and then discuss what needs to be remedied.

This week, Clarke is bullish after working two-and-a-half days with Claude.

"I wasn't making a proper shoulder turn because I wasn't getting behind the ball. And when I wasn't getting behind the ball, my arms were collapsing. I had to hit more through my hands than I should do," said Clarke.

He claims to have knocked such chinks out of his swing, and is ready to chase a championship in which he has twice finished runner-up.

Last year, Clarke finished second to Colin Montgomerie (who is chasing a fourth successive title) and, without a win in Europe this season, this is one he would particularly like to win.

"Not detracting from all the rest of the tournaments, but there are some flagship events. I've already won the Volvo Masters and I would like to win here."

To do so he will have to produce his best. Five of the top-10 players in the world are here, including Ernie Els, who flew in yesterday after his grandmother's funeral in South Africa, Vijay Singh, and Montgomerie, who said yesterday he feels "one shot ahead of the field as soon as I stand on that first tee".

Although he has endured a terrible start to the season, there have been signs in the past two weeks that Monty has turned the corner.

"I'm entering what I imagine will be the last six years of my career and I believe I still have my best golf left to play. I'm as keen as ever. I know it is very difficult to defend anything, but I have done it three times, and if it happens (for a fourth time), then it happens. Montgomerie revels on this course. He is 49 under par for his last 12 PGA rounds here, and has won or made the final of his last two world matchplay tournaments.

His form of recent months may not inspire confidence, but this course breeds repeat winners.

It promises to be particularly difficult this weekend, with fast fairways and hard greens, which should make local knowledge all the more important.

With no Tiger Woods in the field, Monty - as of old - is the man they have to beat.