Darren Clarke learns Paul McGinley's opinion as he admits ‘it's one of the biggest jokes'

Daily Mirror

19-07-2025

Darren Clarke was once known as golf's golden boy but his reputation as a party lover led to suggestions that he didn't put the work in - a claim Paul McGinley has now shut down
Paul McGinley has given his true thoughts on Darren Clarke by dismissing the myth that the Northern Irish golfer coasted on talent alone and didn't put in the hard graft required. Despite their past feud, McGinley described the idea as "one of the biggest jokes in golf."
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Clarke, now 56, was widely seen as the golden boy of the sport in his early career and enjoyed success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning two World Golf Championship events. However, his major tournament record was characterised by underachievement, with the exception of his Open Championship win at Royal St George's in 2011.
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The Dungannon star's fondness for partying and socialising has led to some speculation that he might have achieved more had he been more dedicated. But, speaking ahead of the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush, his former rival and friend McGinley dismissed such talk.
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In an interview with Indo Sport, McGinley said: 'That's one of the biggest jokes in golf, the way Darren is positioned as this happy-go-lucky Irishman, always in good form, drinking and partying his head off, incredibly gifted and that's the success that he had.
'We all know and revel in how hard Padraig Harrington worked. I can promise you that golf meant as much, if not more, to Darren and he worked equally as hard. Having lived next door to him for 20 years in England, having seen the effort he put into practice…
'On top of the God-given talent that he had, he also worked at it and probably, in some ways, it hurt him more than it helped him because he was so obsessed with the game and worked so hard on the game that he went up blind alleys too regularly.
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"I think he'd admit that himself. But he worked very hard and he had incredible ambition. I'm full of admiration for what he has done in his career.'
McGinley went on to comment on his huge natural ability, adding: 'I remember when I was playing Under-18s and barely getting into these junior programmes in Ireland. I was coming onto the scene but there was one guy who stood out from everybody else.
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'He had bleach blonde hair, he came with an arrogance and a look of confidence about him. He had irons that the players were using on tour, he got all the latest gear and he hit the ball just phenomenally. He was in a different league to everybody else. So from the age of 16, Darren was a step ahead of everybody else.'
Despite his glowing praise, the pair once fell out after Clarke controversially made a U-turn on supporting McGinley's bid to become European captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup. Clarke wrote to McGinley in 2011, offering his support to the Irishman's bid to lead at Gleneagles.
Yet, in December 2012, Clarke told the BBC that he was putting his own name forward for the captaincy role, before seemingly throwing his support behind Colin Montgomerie after the United States appointed Tom Watson. It was, however, McGinley who was eventually appointed as captain in 2013, leading Europe to a 16½-11½ victory and earning praise from Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.
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McGinley later admitted that their conversations had become "short and sweet." The rift between them was mended by 2016, though, as revealed by Clarke to the Daily Mail.
"Paul and I had a great conversation in Dubai. We must have stood and talked for an hour on the range. He was giving me tips and advice about what he had done. We had a great conversation there and I apologised to him," Clarke said.
"I let things go. I have moved on. I have made my peace with Paul and he was brilliant in Dubai. I can go back to him and run things past him. He said, 'Whatever you want, let me know.'
"We have buried the hatchet and we are moving forward. We have drawn a line under it. He offered me all sorts of advice. He couldn't have been better. That feels good because we were very close growing up all the way through our careers.'