Out of Bounds

Evaluating Clarke, McIlroy & Donald's great years

Alex Dimond November 30, 2011

Was Rory McIlroy's US Open win 'better' than Darren Clarke's Open triumph? © Getty Images

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Rory McIlroy

RORY MCILROY

Biggest achievement: Winning the US Open at Congressional by eight shots.
Other successes: Victory at the star-studded (and lucrative) Shanghai Masters.
Biggest disappointment: Blowing a final round lead at The Masters, failing to challenge at the Open Championship - and scuppering his chances at the US PGA with a naive shot.
Other notable moments: Getting in a spat with a commentator at the Irish Open, dumping his long-term agent Chubby Chandler, parting with his long-term girlfriend before beginning to date tennis No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

McIlroy's big moment of the year undoubtedly came at Congressional, when he blew away the field in a manner golf has rarely seen by anyone other than future greats to claim the US Open.

The eight-shot, four-day coronation was dramatic and momentous on its own, but the fact McIlroy had thrown away a sizeable advantage on the final day of The Masters barely two months earlier added another layer of intrigue to the whole affair.

It was a breathtaking show of nerve and impenetrable self-confidence to bounce back from such a harrowing moment with such a defining one. In the process, it catapulted McIlroy to a new level of worldwide stardom - one arguably only Tiger Woods (and maybe Phil Mickelson) have recently occupied.

That was McIlroy's big moment of 2011 just as it was golf's - but there were disappointments too. He didn't live up to his new status as favourite at the Open and then played himself out of contention at the US PGA with an escape shot that damaged his wrist (a foolish choice of shot, one that reawakened a debate from Augusta about the suitability of his caddie, JP Fitzgerald).

Dumping his long-term agents ISM for an Irish firm was another surprise, while the dispensing of his childhood sweetheart in favour of tennis star Caroline Wozniacki lent some weight to suspicions that he was believing his own hype and neglecting his golf. Only victory in Shanghai in November started to assuage those premature fears.

McIlroy's year was seismic in one way, then, but Congressional aside had nearly as many ups and downs. Now with four professional victories to his name, 2011 still feels like the start of something for McIlroy - rather than the peak.

Darren Clarke

DARREN CLARKE

Biggest achievement: Winning the Open Championship at Royal St George's.
Other successes: Victory at the relatively minor Iberdrola Open.
Biggest disappointment: Following up his major victory with some terrible performances
Other notable moments: Err... attracting criticism for the way he 'celebrated' his crowning success?

It would have taken a brave man to predict 42-year-old Darren Clarke would be in the discussion for any end-of-year awards in 2011 - even after he won the Iberdrola Open in the spring - as the Northern Irishman appeared to be a good ten years removed from his prime.

Never a great putter, Clarke's famed ball-striking had also appeared to drop off - but both those elements were restored to peak levels during a perfect storm of circumstances that led to victory at the Open Championship - where weather of a more tangible nature also played in his favour.

Clarke arrived at Royal St George's happy with his game but struggling with his putting, before a few tips from his old guide, Dr Bob Rotella, had him rolling them a bit more straight and true. Handed the favourable side of the draw on Thursday (the afternoon) and Friday (the morning) Clarke avoided the worst of the wet and windy weather, building a lead that he would see through to a three-shot success come Sunday.

It was an emotional victory for Clarke, a well-wished man ever since the sad death of his first wife Heather from cancer. No-one expected him to be a major winner so late in his career, least of all the man himself, but here he was with the Claret Jug. And boy, did he celebrate.

Unfortunately his golf deteriorated during the rest of the year, with abject performances at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and Grand Slam of Golf raising unfortunate questions about exactly how much luck had gone into his Open success. That win aside his year was average by the standards of most professional golfers, but Clarke is not most golfers - and that one week in July could not be further from average for those who like their sport with a side order of sentiment.

Luke Donald

LUKE DONALD

Biggest achievement: Winning the PGA Tour money list and, in all probability, the European Tour equivalent.
Other successes: Four wins worldwide, including the WGC World Match Play and BMW PGA Championship.
Biggest disappointment: Other than a fleeting challenge at The Masters, a failure to contend at a major.
Other notable moments: Overhauling both Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer to become the undisputed world No. 1.

While McIlroy and Clarke's candidacies are based on great performances at one, high-profile, tournament, Donald's year is much more of an ode to year-round consistency. And it's tempting to say that while Tiger Woods was a master at the former, it was for the latter that he became the 'greatest of all time' candidate that he is today.

Donald won as many times as McIlroy and Clarke combined in 2011 - claiming the WGC Accenture World Match Play, BMW PGA Championship, Scottish Open and Disney Classic in a stellar year that hardly saw him fall outside the top 20 in an event, never mind miss a cut (although he did have the weekend off at the Open, embarrassingly).

Such was his consistency that he won the PGA Tour money list (storming through at the Disney Classic in dramatic style to do so) and will do the same on the European Tour (unless Rory wins twice in the next few weeks). It would be a feat never before seen, something even Woods cannot say he has done (officially, at least).

Such has been Donald's relentless run, it's hard to remember that at the start of the year the world No. 1 spot was being fought over by Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood, with plenty of other candidates waiting in the wings. Yet Donald now has a lead that will be difficult for anyone to overhaul for months, having claimed half as many ranking points again as anyone else - and all that without winning, or really contending, in a major.

And that's the only drawback for Donald, who ran close at the Masters but was never really in the hunt for the other three blockbuster events - much to some critics' delight. A major win would cement his long-term legacy - but should an otherwise landmark year, up there with the best of modern times, be devalued based on four tournaments?

Verdict

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While much will depend on personal preference, Donald's unrivalled consistency is hard to ignore. It's difficult to imagine what more he could have done in a season that rivalled Tiger Woods at his peak for unrelenting quality, other than claim a major - which, in inconvenient contrast to the over-emphasis on those four events each year, can often be something of a lottery to win.

McIlroy's victory at the US Open was undoubtedly the most important golfing event of the year, ushering in as it did what appears likely to be a period where the Northern Irishman goes on to win many more majors and become the game's next worldwide star. But he did go off the boil slightly after that success as external factors began to distract him - only really escaping from that fog in November, nearly six months later.

Clarke's success thus brings up the rear - considering he was helped at St George's by a fortuitous draw and his fall-off after the event was even more pronounced than McIlroy's. Yet, considering all he has been through in his life, that one win in Kent arguably had more emotional resonance with those who saw it than anything Donald or McIlroy managed.

His might not have been the best year overall, then, but if the BBC award is for more than just sporting excellence then it is not hard to see why Clarke is such a firm favourite.

Alex Dimond