ASIA HAS become a very rich picking ground of late as Darren Clarke's first European Tour win in five years at the BMW Asian Open yesterday meant he became the third Irish golfer in the space of six weeks to win on the continent.
Graeme McDowell got the ball rolling when he recorded his third European Tour win at the inaugural Ballantine's Championship in South Korea on the eve of St Patrick's Day.
Five weeks later Damien McGrane realised his lifelong dream when he secured the Volvo China Open in horrendous final-day conditions in Beijing.
And just one week after McGrane's maiden win, Clarke held his nerve to hole a 30-foot birdie putt on the final green in Shanghai to fend off the challenge of Robert-Jan Derksen from the Netherlands.
The three quick-fire Irish wins in Asia might come as a surprise to anyone who pays close attention to the rankings and order of merit as indicators of form.
For some time now Pádraig Harrington has stood out as a lone Irish figure at the upper echelons of the world rankings. Not that long ago the British Open champion was the only Irishman in the top 100.
McDowell is now up to 59th in the world and fifth on the current European Tour Order of Merit after his win at Jeju Island in South Korea.
The 27-year-old's win was all the more impressive for the pair of 66s he shot over the weekend in question to force a play-off with India's Jeev Mikha Singh after they both tied on 24 under par.
The Portrush pro then played a brilliant seven-iron approach to within inches of the hole to close out his opponent in sudden death.
The €333,330 cheque also elevated him to fourth and ninth respectively on the European and World Ryder Cup points lists.
McGrane's win in this year's Olympic host city was an altogether different affair. The Meath man, used to playing against the elements, simply had to steer a steady course on the final day as those around him fell away.
In the end the 36-year-old shot a closing 73 for a 10-under-par aggregate but still won by a staggering nine shots.
The €232,121 winner's cheque was by far the biggest of McGrane's career and elevates him to sixth on the order of merit.
Clarke's most recent win was an emotionally charged return to the winner's circle that also bridged the gap to his last European Tour win at the WGC-NEC International in Ohio in 2003.
The Ryder Cup hero didn't have it all his own way coming down the stretch as he missed a very short putt on the 16th.
A further bogey at the 17th meant he and Derksen were level standing on the 18th tee.
However, Clarke's pinpoint accurate drive set up a safe approach to the green as Derksen went long before he got up and down for par from behind the green.
When a play-off looked certain Clarke boldly struck his birdie effort, which caught the right side of the cup and dropped to seal his 11th European Tour win.
The victory also moved the 39-year-old up to 14th on the order of merit (€408,507).
Three Irishmen have recorded tour wins in the same season before; the old guard of Harrington, Clarke and Paul McGinley managed the feat twice, once in 1996 and again in 2001.
But never had the treble been achieved in such a short time as this season in Asia.
Order of Merit
Selected Irish European Tour
Order of Merit Standings
Position Player Events €
5th Graeme McDowell 11602,610
6th Damien McGrane 14543,209
12th Pádraig Harrington 5419,672
14th Darren Clarke 11408,507
39th Paul McGinley 9229,980
88th Peter Lawrie12110,962
105th Rory McIlroy 1181,792
124th Gary Murphy 1061,483
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)