Darren Clarke produced an impressive final-round six-under 65 but finished one shot behind the fast-finishing Rory Sabbatini at the PGA Tour Champions’ Stifel Charity Classic in Missouri.
The 2011 Open champion began the final round tied for fifth after opening with a 64 to take the first round lead but surrendering it with a level-par 71 in round two.
Clarke hit the ground running on the final day, birdieing the opening hole then reeling off four-in-a-row to close out the nine and make the turn at -12 and tied for the lead with Henrik Stenson.
Another birdie on the 13th gave him sole possession of the lead, but a mistake on the 14th cost him his only bogey of the round, but he claimed that shot back on 16.
By then, a new challenger had emerged as Rory Sabbatini – a South African who now represents Slovakia – was playing two groups ahead of Clarke but trailed the Dungannon man by four as Clarke made the turn.
Sabbatini picked up birdies on 11 and 13, but bogeyed the 12th, and was still four back when he stood on the 15th tee. But in the most impressive of fashions, he went on a run of eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie to play the final four holes in five-under-par and set the clubhouse target at -14.
That left Clarke needing to find a birdie the last to force a playoff, and though he split the fairway off the tee, he came up a little short on approach and faced a 40-foot uphill putt similar to the one Sabbatini had holed to complete his round. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the bottom of the cup and Clarke had to settle for solo second place.
For Sabbatini, who turned 50 in April, it was his first PGA Tour Champions victory, while Clarke will have to wait for win number seven on the senior circuit.
“Obviously when you get in those stretches, it’s not very common, it’s a rare occurrence,” Sabbatini said of his incredible finish. “I think the toughest part of that is staying out of your own way and letting things happen. Just like you try and explain to an amateur golfer, you start thinking about a round and that’s when things go south. You just try and focus one shot at a time and try to stay present in that moment. It’s really tough to do, but when you do do it, things can happen in a crazy sense.”
Pádraig Harrington produced his best round of the week to finish and his four-under 67 which included an eagle, two birdies and no bogeys saw him climb 15 places and finish tied for 30th.
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