Clarke gets accolade in April

Darren Clarke’s 40ft putt on the 72nd hole of the BMW Asian Open, which secured an emotional return to the winners’ enclosure on The European Tour for the Ulsterman following a near five-year absence, has been voted The European Tour Shot of the Month for April. Clarke’s birdie saw him hold off the gallant challenge of the Netherlands’ Robert-Jan Derksen to claim victory by one shot at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club and spark joyous scenes. The putt was made all the more impressive by the fact that Clarke had bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes when, by his own admission, he had allowed his thoughts to wander to the tough times he had endured in the past two years. Of his putt, Clarke said: “I was thinking of getting it to the hole – I wasn’t going to lag it. I putted nicely all week, and wanted to give myself a chance on the last. I gathered myself, and hit a solid putt. It was tracking six feet out, and I guess sometimes it’s just meant to go in. My boys Tyrone and Conor would have enjoyed that putt more than I did.” Clarke’s fellow Irishman Damien McGrane finished runner-up for his final round shot on the ninth hole at Beijing CBD International Golf Club where, in driving rain, he chipped in for birdie en route to his maiden European Tour victory – secured by nine strokes – at the Volvo China Open. In third place was the sublime second shot of France’s Grégory Bourdy at the 11th hole on the final day of the Estoril Open de Portugal, which he eventually won in a sudden-death play-off. Previous monthly award winners were South Africa’s Richard Sterne (January), New Zealand’s Mark Brown (February) and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (March). The European Tour Shot of the Month Award is presented to the Tour Member for the shot judged to be the most outstanding played during each calendar month on The European Tour International Schedule. The winning shots from each month are entered into The European Tour Shot of the Year Award.