Clarke looks to Augusta for inspiration

Darren Clarke is looking for some feel-good vibes; and nobody would begrudge him those. Since his last appearance at Augusta National a year ago, much has happened. The low point, the death of his wife, Heather, to cancer last August; the high point, his flawless, 100 per cent record in Europe's win in the Ryder Cup six weeks later.

But since that high of the Ryder Cup, the game of golf hasn't been an easy one for Clarke. As things stand, he is a lowly 106th on the PGA European Tour's money list and has fallen dramatically to 63rd in the official world rankings, and only owes his place in the field here to the fact that he was in the world's top-50 at the end of 2006, before the freefall took grip.

And, to be sure, recent form doesn't bode well: he comes into the US Masters - the 10th time that he has gotten to grace the fairways - on the back of two missed cuts, in the Singapore Masters and the Bay Hill Invitational.

Yet, there is hope that a return to a course where, in 2003 he shot an opening 66 to assume the first round lead and contended for a long time in 2006, can provide inspiration.

The last time that Clarke played in a major was at the British Open at Hoylake, where he missed the cut and promptly put his clubs away until a week before the Ryder Cup. But there is something about Augusta National that appeals to Clarke and he undertook a sneak visit recently - playing a couple of rounds with his friend, Eoghan O'Connell - while, last week, just as he did a year ago, he spent holiday time with his two children, Tyrone and Conor, on the idyllic Carribean.

"You know, I had a very good week with the boys in Abaco. I spent a lot of time on the beach, but also hit balls and practiced and played every day when I was there. It was good," said Clarke, who has utilised much of the time since he arrived here at Augusta on the practice range where he has been working with golfing guru David Leadbetter in a bid to ignite his game.

Certainly, Clarke hopes that the relaxed build-up will benefit him. "It did last year, I did alright until I messed up on 15," recalled Clarke, who eventually finished in tied-22nd after a closing round 77.

However, the real damage had been inflicted before he set off in that final round. On the par-five 15th in his weather-delayed third round on the Sunday morning, a hole that played the second easiest of all in last year's Masters, Clarke's drive had finished just off the fairway in rough, but he was tempted to go for the green in two. The ball was destined to find the water in front of the green from the time it left the clubface. His woes were compounded when he took a penalty drop, and the ball rolled into a divot which led to a second visit to the water.

He ran up a triple bogey eight, and the wind had been taken from his sails by the time he returned to the course for the final round after lunch.

"I've been working hard with Leadbetter, and I'm an awful lot better than I was. Basically, you build up confidence through playing tournaments and, obviously, I haven't been doing that so my confidence is not as high as it normally would be. Yet I'd just like to get out there and play and hopefully get a couple of decent rounds under my belt and I'll be off. There's always this mixture of enjoyment and trepidation about Augusta, because miss the green in the wrong place and you're in trouble. Sometimes, a bogey is not a bad result here and that can happen without hitting a particularly bad shot."

Still, the reality is that Clarke heads into the Masters more in hope rather than confidence, hoping that his natural talent and a return to the big time of the majors on a course he adores will allow him to play like he knows he can do.