While Clarke struggled to keep his ball in play Parnevik flattered to deceive

While Clarke struggled to keep his ball in play, Parnevik flattered to deceive. He found a bunker on the sixth and took six, hit the flag on the seventh which enabled him to get a birdie three and made a great save at the eighth, the Postage Stamp.Parnevik appeared to be in control but there was no rhythm nor reason to what he did over the back nine. Now it’s all to do with this.” He patted his head and his heart.Parnevik, of course, had experienced the kitchen heat in the Open, making a mistake at the last to lose by a stroke to Nick Price at Turnberry in 1994. Having gone out of bounds and playing three off the tee, he found a bunker and although he hit a cracker out of there, he carded a double-bogey six. He went from 10-under to eight-under and never fully recovered from the experience.His coach, the Yorkshireman Peter Cowen, pointed out that Clarke was in virgin territory “He’s been playing effective golf,” Cowen said “Not necessarily pretty, but effective.

His playing partner, Parnevik, hit an iron rather than a driver off the first, knocked his second into a bunker and played a truly brilliant shot out of the sand.When Clarke walked to the second he was one stroke off the lead and he smacked his drive way right towards the Firth of Clyde. “Don’t worry about it son,” Boxall told Clarke before the final round.When Clarke arrived on the first tee it was to raucous applause and he made the perfect start, holing a lengthy putt for a birdie three. Nobody wins the Open wearing purple trousers, not even the walking spectrum, Doug Sanders.Clarke looked relaxed as he practised his putting, a routine only interrupted by the arrival of the Surrey golfer Richard Boxall. Anybody wearing jeans or shorts is not allowed into the Troon clubhouse but apparently it is all right for the leader to appear in a shade of lavender.Clarke was far more circumspect when he opened his wardrobe door yesterday morning, selecting a white shirt, black trousers and black and white shoes.

Goodness only knows what Clarke would not have given yesterday for Harrington’s 67.Purely on the question of sartorial elegance, the suspicion is that the blue blazers of the Royal and Ancient would have preferred Coco the Clown to take possession of the silver trophy rather than the son of one of Sweden’s top comedians who goes by the name of Bo.Jesper appeared on the practice putting green sporting not just his trademark, the upturned cap – whenever picture editors see this they are confused into thinking that the Swede is playing into a hurricane – but a pair of purple drainpipe trousers. “I don’t think any Irishman has ever won the Open, has he?”

In his excitement, Harrington was thinking more about the Ulsterman Darren Clarke than Fred Daly, who lifted the old claret jug at Hoylake (the Open, sadly, has outgrown the Liverpool links) 50 years ago.
There was to be no centenary hooley at Royal Troon yesterday although there was no shortage of volunteers. After two and a half rounds Big Darren – he used to be a beefy rugby union wing-forward – was four strokes clear of the field but went into the final day two shots adrift of the colourful Swede, Jesper Parnevik. After two rounds the Dubliner Padraig Harrington was over the moon “It’s fantastic, isn’t it?” he said.

His second lipped out from four feet and his red shirt lost some of its supposed power. “I knew I couldn’t win then,” Woods said.FINAL SCORES FROM THE 126th OPEN(GB or Irl unless stated; *denotes amateur))272(pounds 250,000)J Leonard (US) 69, 66, 72, 65275(pounds 150,000)D Clarke (N Irl) 67, 66, 71, 71J Parnevik (Swe) 70, 66, 66, 73279(pounds 90,000)J Furyk (US) 67, 72, 70, 70280(pounds 62,500)S Ames (Trin) 74, 69, 66, 71P Harrington 75, 69, 69, 67281(pounds 40,666)F Couples (US) 69, 68, 70, 74P O’Malley (Aus) 73, 70, 70, 68E Romero (Arg) 74, 68, 67, 72282(pounds 24,300)R Allenby (Aus) 76, 68, 66, 72M Calcavecchia (US) 74, 67, 72, 69E Els (SA) 75, 69, 69, 69R Goosen (SA) 75, 69, 70, 68T Kite (US) 72, 67, 74, 69D Love III (US) 70, 71, 74, 67S Maruyama (Japan) 74, 69, 70, 69F Nobilo (NZ) 74, 72, 68, 68T Watson (US) 71, 70, 70, 71L Westwood 73, 70, 67, 72283(pounds 14,500)S Appleby (Aus) 72, 72, 68, 71B Faxon (US) 77, 67, 72, 67M James 76, 67, 70, 70J M Olazabal (Sp) 75, 68, 73, 67284(pounds 10,362)J Haas (US) 71, 70, 73, 70T Lehman (US) 74, 72, 72, 66P Lonard (Aus) 72, 70, 69, 73P Mickelson (US) 76, 68, 69, 71C Montgomerie 76, 69, 69, 70D A Russell 75, 72, 68, 69T Woods (US) 72, 74, 64, 74I Woosnam 71, 73, 69, 71286(pounds 8,320)R Davis (Aus) 73, 73, 70, 70D Duval (US) 73, 69, 73, 71J Lomas 72, 71, 69, 74A Magee (US) 70, 75, 72, 69M McNulty (Zim) 78, 67, 72, 69287(pounds 7,900)G Norman (Aus) 69, 73, 70, 75288(pounds 7,550)M Bradley (US) 72, 73, 73, 70J Kernohan (US) 76, 70, 74, 68B Langer (Ger) 72, 74, 69, 73M O’Meara (US) 73, 73, 74, 68R Russell 72, 72, 74, 70V Singh (Fiji) 77, 69, 70, 72289(pounds 7,050)J Coceres (Arg) 76, 70, 71, 72J Kelly (US) 76, 68, 72, 73C Strange (US) 71, 71, 70, 77D Tapping 71, 66, 78, 74290(pounds 6,750)S Jones (US) 76, 71, 68, 75J Payne 74, 71, 74, 71291(pounds 6,205)R Boxall 75, 71, 72, 73A Cabrera (Arg) 70, 70, 76, 75N Faldo 71, 73, 75, 72J Maggert (US) 76, 69, 71, 75P Mitchell 75, 69, 76, 71C Pavin (US) 78, 69, 76, 68W Riley (Aus) 74, 71, 75, 71P Senior (Aus) 76, 70, 73, 72G Turner (NZ) 76, 71, 72, 72292(pounds 5,800)P Stewart (US) 73, 74, 71, 74293(pounds 5,750)*B Howard 70, 74, 76, 73J Nicklaus (US) 73, 74, 71, 75294(pounds 5,625)T Purtzer (US) 72, 71, 73, 78J Spence 78, 69, 72, 75S Stricker (US) 72, 73, 74, 75P Teravainen (US) 74, 72, 73, 75295(pounds 5,450)G Clark 74, 72, 72, 77P-U Johansson (Swe) 72, 75, 73, 75P McGinley 76, 71, 77, 71296(pounds 5,350)T Tolles (US) 77, 68, 75, 76298(pounds 5,300)B Andrade (US) 72, 72, 78, 76. After his seven at the 11th on Thursday and his eight at the 10th on Friday, Woods got it in earlier yesterday at the short eighth. The Postage Stamp licked him for a triple-bogey six after he found the deep bunker on the right. The ball was half-plugged in the sand and his first escape caught the steep bank and rolled back down to his feet.Woods then came out to 25 feet, but three putts followed.

Starting the final round eight strokes behind, Woods needed to repeat Saturday’s course record- equalling 64.That was the only round in which he avoided what the scoring summary statistics call a “disaster”. That feat remains the sole preserve of George Duncan at Royal Cinque Port’s, Deal, in 1920. I was struggling with my game and scrambling to save my life on every hole.”If Fred Couples, as the 1992 US Masters champion, was the most experienced of the leaders, he showed no sign of waking up to the fact. He birdied the first, but drove into a bunker at the second for a bogey and from then on he was less than inspired.