• The Open

Clarke heading to St Andrews on the up

Darren Clarke heads to The Open in great form after finishing second in the Scottish Open © Getty Images

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Darren Clarke heads to The Open at St Andrews as a golfer reborn following his impressive showing at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

Clarke hit three sub-70 rounds to continue his renaissance and although a final round 76 ensured he finished three shots adrift of winner Edoardo Molinari, the Northern Irishman had the consolation of securing a place at Thursday's Open.

"The disappointment is huge because it is the Barclays Scottish Open and I wanted to win. I didn't come here to finish second but I suppose I would have taken it at the start of the week," he said.

"I wasn't in The Open before I came here and I am now. I had to post a score around the back nine to do that and I did that with a couple of great up and downs. I also made a great birdie on the 17th.

"I go to St Andrews to hopefully, reproduce my first three rounds here - and there are no par fives over water at St Andrews!"

Meanwhile, Scotland's Stephen Gallacher was ecstatic with his fine display after becoming the first Scot to finish in the top five at Loch Lomond since Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie a decade ago.

"I like St Andrews and this has been a good warm-up for it. I hear the weather will be the same as here and it was a battle to start with in this last round," he said.

Gallacher heads to St Andrews on the back of some superb golf and if he can continue to excel, his aims of breaking into the top 100 and the Race to Dubai could be realised.

"Making the Race to Dubai is one of my goals and also to get into the US PGA but it's St Andrews first. I have never made a cut in a Major so to play all four days would be very nice," he added.

The newly-crowned Scottish Open champion, Molinari, has been rewarded for his recent displays by moving into the top 20 in the world for the first time.

Phil Mickelson will leapfrog Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings if he lifts the Claret Jug - though a top-four finish would be enough if Woods missed the cut for a second successive time.

World Rankings: 1. Tiger Woods (USA), 2. Phil Mickelson (USA), 3. Lee Westwood (Eng), 4. Steve Stricker (USA), 5. Jim Furyk (USA), 6. Ernie Els (RSA), 7. Luke Donald (Eng), 8. Ian Poulter (Eng), 9. Rory McIlroy (NI), 10. Paul Casey (Eng), 11. Graeme McDowell (NI), 12. Anthony Kim (USA), 13. Martin Kaymer (GER), 14. Robert Allenby (Aus), 15. Padraig Harrington (Ire), 16. Justin Rose (Eng), 17. Camilo Villegas (Col), 18. Zac Johnson (USA), 19. Edoardo Molinari (ITA), 20. Retief Goosen (RSA)

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