Clarke third as Nobilo earns laurels

A BRILLIANT 64 by New Zealander Frank Nobilo not only put the Deutsche Bank Open beyond Darren Clarke's reach yesterday, it also trumped the best effort of European number one Colin Montgomerie.

Nobilo had an eagle and four birdies in a thunderous outward 30, then added an unanswerable birdie hat trick from the 15th for a record equalling 18 under par total of 270.

Montgomerie's superb 66 left him one stroke behind, but three ahead of Clarke who birdied the 16th and 17th to wriggle clear of the pack and take third place with a 70 for 274. It won the Ulsterman a prize of £45,400, more than double his previous earnings this season.

It was also easily his best individual performance since he was runner up at the Portuguese Open last year, and the first indication that his switch of coach to Montgomerie's adviser, Bill Ferguson, is about to pay big dividends.

Clarke had taken over the joint leadership with Spaniard Miguel Martin at Hamburg's Gut Kaden course after his second successive 67 in the third round, so he had every right to feel optimistic about his chances of a first victory since the 1993 Belgian Open, especially as he had been runnerup to Bernhard Langer on the course four years ago.

But Nobilo shattered Clarke's dreams, and those of Dubliner Paul McGinley, who was joint seventh, by charging to the turn in 30 with an eagle and four birdies. The New Zealander had also covered the stretch in six under par in the first round when he played it as his inward half.

With Clarke unable to sink birdie putts in the early stages only Montgomerie could compete with that surge as he went out in 32 and took the lead with a fifth birdie at the 10th. Both dropped shots at the short 14th, but in the Scot's case it was fatal.

His solitary bogey gave Nobilo an opening he seized with skill and authority. He birdied both the 15th and 16th to again go ahead and then got his third in a row from a greenside bunker at the 17th.

That salvo left Montgomerie with the task of covering the last two holes in two under par to tie, and though he made a gallant effort, the European number one fell a shot short. Despite taking his favourite driver from the 17th fairway, he was unable to match Nobilo's birdie, and his attempt to sink an eight iron approach from over 170 yards at the 18th finished eight feet short.

Montgomerie made the birdie putt to put the runners up cheque of over £80,000 out of Clarke's reach, but the Irish golfer was not be denied his reward. He got down from eight feet for his birdie two at the 16th, and pitched within inches of the flag at the 17th to reach 14 under and overtake England's Peter Mitchell and Jamie Spence, and South African Retief Goosen, who had all finished on 13 under.

"Things didn't happen for me early on but I kept plugging away and I got what I deserved," said Clarke. "I feel much happier about, my US Open chances now.

McGinley was also thoroughly pleased with his overall performance, for after having 68 in his first and third rounds, he finished with a flawless 69 for a 12 under par 276 that won him £16,791.

He had only one strike, at the long sixth, in an outward 35, but converted a six iron approach to six feet at the 10th and holed from 20 feet to birdie the 13th. Had he been able to accept a six foot birdie chance at the 17th he would have won an extra £10,000, but that was balanced by his fighting four at the last where he holed from that range after driving into rough.

"I hit 66 out of 72 greens during the week and that is a good standard," he said. "It was a really good week. Although things did not always go my way, I am delighted to get back to form after a bad run."

Montgomerie, who had seen Fred Couples shoot a last round 64 to deprive him of the Players Championship at Sawgrass earlier this year, commented: "There always seems to be someone around to do these things to me. But I am happy about the way I am playing going into the US Open.

Nobilo, who also received a five year exemption for the European Tour along with the £120,830 champion's cheque, said: "Colin is a world class golfer and the best player in Europe. So it's a privilege to `whack' him by one shot."