| -10 D Clarke (NI); -9 P Harrington (Ire); -8 M Molina (Arg), D Barren (US), E Els (SA), S Alker (NZ), P Broadhurst (Eng) T Jaidee (Thai); -7 C Montgomerie (Sco) |
| Selected others: -5 P Lawrie (Sco), YE Yang (Kor); -4 B Langer (Ger); -3 R Goosen (SA) |
Darren Clarke clinched his first Senior Open title by one shot from Ireland’s Padraig Harrington at Gleneagles.
The 53-year-old from Northern Ireland birdied the 18th hole of Sunday’s final round to card a 69 and finish 10 under.
Clubhouse leader Harrington had picked up six birdies in a superb back nine to shoot 67 but it was not enough to deny Clarke a first senior major.
Clarke becomes just the fourth man to win The Open and Senior Open after Gary Player, Bob Charles and Tom Watson.
The Dungannon man, who won The Open in 2011, was joint overnight leader with England’s Paul Broadhurst and although he bogeyed the 10th he led outright after a birdie two holes later.
He had completed 13 holes when play was suspended for over two hours after a deluge at the Scottish course.
Clarke’s fellow former Ryder Cup captain Harrington dropped three shots in a frustrating front nine before the Dubliner hit top form to come home in 30, a birdie on the last seeing him join Clarke in the lead.
But Clarke held his nerve on the par-five 18th with a perfectly weighted long-range putt giving him a tap-in to secure a four and victory.
“This one is going to sit proudly beside the other Claret Jug,” said Clarke.
“After winning the Open in 2011 and keeping on playing and when I turned 50 this was the one I wanted more that any other tournament, just so I could say I’ve won both of them.”
Broadhurst and Ernie Els were among a group of six players to finish two shots off the pace on eight under.
