Darren Clarke eager to halt his post-Open slump

The 43-year-old Ulsterman, who remarried in the Bahamas two weeks ago – six years after losing his first wife to cancer – rose from 111th to world to 30th with his memorable victory at Sandwich last July.

But the Open champion Clarke has not had a top-ten finish since and, after missing the cut at the Masters earlier this month, finds himself 69th.

“It has been good to have another little break again and obviously get married again,” he said before the pro-am yesterday at Blackstone Golf Club.

“I feel very lucky, but it is back to work again now and try to get back into my golf again. I’ve had a couple of weeks on the beach. I practised a little bit when I was there, so I’ll be a little bit rusty this week, but hopefully I’ll get back into it.”

Clarke is travelling with the Open Claret Jug so has a constant reminder of the greatest day of his golfing life.

“It has certainly a privilege for me to bring it with me most places where I go,” he added.

With Lee Westwood choosing not to defend the title he won by a shot from Miguel Angel Jimenez last May, the highest-ranked player in the field is world No 12 Adam Scott. The 31-year-old Australian came joint-eighth at Augusta after a closing 66 which included a hole-in-one at the 16th.

“I thought my form going into the Masters was good, but it didn’t quite happen the first three days and then I managed to put it all together on Sunday,” he said. “I was pleased with that finish because I probably would have been a little disappointed in my efforts and the work I had done if I did not finish so high up.

“That is why this week is so important – to keep my form going heading into the rest of the season. I’ve come over here to get myself in contention and see where my game is at.”

Scott, a former winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Beijing and three Singapore Opens, added: “It’s true that I’ve enjoyed playing in Asia over the years and I have had a certain amount of success, which is great.”

England’s Ian Poulter and Paul Casey are also in the field competing for a first prize of just under £300,000.

Poulter was seventh in the Masters and third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks earlier – and that while he was still recovering from pneumonia – but then came only 29th at last week’s Volvo China Open. Casey suffered his fourth successive missed cut there and has yet to make one since returning from the dislocated shoulder he suffered snowboarding on Christmas Eve.

The 34-year-old’s ranking has gone from 20th to 45th in that time, but he said: “Hopefully a good performance at the Ballantine’s Championship will be the catalyst for a successful season.”

Korean hopes are high with former USPGA champion Y E Yang, K T Kim and Bae Sang-moon all taking part.

There are a total of seven Scots in the field for the event, including the likes of Richie Ramsay, Scott Jamieson, George Murray, David Drysdale, Ross Bain, Peter Whiteford and Marc Warren.

None of the seven are ranked in the top-100 in the world, but Ramsay is the highest on the list, at 114th. Bain, who turned pro in 1998, is ranked 750th in the world.