A double bogey did not deter Darren Clarke from setting the pace at the Stifel Charity Classic, as the Northern Irishman captured the first-round lead at the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs opener on Friday in St. Louis.
Clarke rattled off nine birdies in his opening round at Norwood Hills Country Club, three of them coming over the last five holes after he doubled the par-4 13th.
At 7-under-par 64, he is one stroke ahead of Australia’s Mark Hensby and two in front of Vaughn Taylor and Tim Petrovic.
“I tend to put a lot of work into my game, as you know, and whenever I don’t see any results I tend to get very, very frustrated,” Clarke said. “Certainly past three weeks have pushed me to the limit.
“But you know the old saying is (the) answer’s in the dirt, what you’ve got to do. I’m not shy with putting the time in. I kept doing it.”
Clarke hit a bunker on the way to reaching the green at No. 13 and then three-putted for his double, but his putting was otherwise sterling.
“I think the last time I was No. 1 in putting was Firestone in 2003,” he cracked.
The 58-year-old with six PGA Tour Champions wins to his credit came into the playoffs 12th in the standings. He’s projected to move up to fifth if he wins the first of three playoff events, while Stewart Cink could maintain a healthy lead. Cink is currently fifth on the leaderboard at 4-under 67, three behind Clarke.
The top 72 players in the regular season qualified for the playoffs, and the top 54 in the standings after this week advance to the Simmons Bank Championship. Hensby sits in 62nd and has an opportunity to rocket up those standings if he continues to play how he played Friday.
However, he revealed after his round that he has booked a trip back to Australia and he doesn’t intend on missing it, even if he advances in the playoffs.
“I think my time’s done out here,” Hensby said after his bogey-free 65. “I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve not really — let’s just say I’ve had enough and I want to spend time at home.”
“Obviously if I win (this tournament), then at the end of the day, next year if I felt like coming out in the summertime, which I won’t be out here but if I did come out, it would be in the summertime,” he went on to add. “But yeah, I’d like to have that choice so to speak, I guess. But in saying that, there’s a long way to go.”