Woosie to offer Darren Ryder wild card
 

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Woosie to offer Darren Ryder wild card

SPECULATION intensified here last night that Darren Clarke has been promised a wild card Ryder Cup selection by European captain Ian Woosnam and is prepared to do all he can to be ready for the clash with the US at the K-Club on September 22-24.


The news may surprise many people because of the death of his wife, Heather, as recently as Sunday last. Later that day, his management company, ISM, issued a statement to the effect thatDarren would return to the game when he felt ready, but that is now likely to happen a lot sooner than many people imagined

Sources close to the European Tour say that Woosnam has gone so far as to promise Clarke a place in his team. The plan is that he would return to competitive action in the Madrid Open in the week immediately before the Ryder Cup and if he was in good shape after that, mentally and physically, that he would go straight to The K-Club. However, if he reported back to Woosnam that he didn't feel up to it, then the Welshman would draft in a replacement.

As Paul McGinley indicated, Darren has many issues to address and one of them is how best to bring up his two boys, Tyrone (8 ) and Conor (6). But my understanding is that Clarke has told friends that when they return to school early in September, he does not want to sit at home alone and feels he should “return to work sooner rather than later”.

The fact that Heather, even when at her lowest, urged him to go out and play is one good reason why he is considering the situation and those close to him feel she would have wanted him to play in the first Ryder Cup to be staged in Ireland.

Clarke has talked along those lines in the past. He made a late decision to play in the Open last year when Heather amazed doctors with her recovery after she hadsuffered heart failure as a result of her condition. His comments then could be just as appropriate now that he finds himself a singlefather.

At that time, he commented: “Heather and I have talked about the situation and this is what she wants. So I don't feel guilty about being away even though it's hard not to be with her. She wants me to get back competing and trying to win golf tournaments again. She feels it's time for me to get back out here and play again and that's what I want, too.