While his major championship record may not show it, there did not appear to be many players in the world who could compete with Darren Clarke when the Irishman was at his very best.
Darren Clarke has had an outstanding career, with the high point coming when he won the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s. Remarkably, that victory had come a decade after his previous top 10 in a major championship.
Clarke played the majority of his golf on the European Tour while at the peak of his powers. By the time the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship had come around, he had won five times in Europe. He had also been a part of the Ryder Cup teams in 1997 at Valderrama, and 1999 at Brookline.
Nevertheless, it seemed that he was destined to become the latest player to lose to Tiger Woods after the pair reached the final of the Match Play 25 years ago.
When Darren Clarke beat Tiger Woods to win the 2000 WGC Match Play
Woods – who was just a few months away from kicking the Tiger Slam into gear – had made a statement by dispatching Davis Love III 5&4 in the semi-final. Clarke meanwhile, had beaten David Duval 4&3 in the last four.
Remarkably, as Sports Illustrated noted at the time, Clarke had no idea at all that the final was to be played over 36 holes, only finding out on his way back to the clubhouse following his victory over Duval on Saturday.
Few probably expected the match to go the distance anyway. However, it was because of Clarke’s brilliance that the $1 million prize was decided after 33 holes.
The Irishman made 12 birdies and one bogey on his way to beating the world number one 4&3. That prompted Woods to admit that Clarke ‘flat outplayed’ him in Carlsbad.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for Butch Harmon. The legendary coach was working with both players at the time so seemingly had a busy morning ahead of the final.
As Sports Illustrated noted, Harmon initially worked with Woods on the range. As he headed down to then speak to Clarke, he was jokingly waved away with Clarke claiming he was striking the ball perfectly.
Woods should have taken that as a warning. Harmon admitted afterwards that Clarke kicked the then two-time major champion’s butt.
How Tiger Woods reacted to losing to Darren Clarke
Clarke would note in his autobiography, An Open Book, several years later that he warned Woods ahead of their final about how he would react if the American over-celebrated at any stage.
You may have assumed that Woods would have taken the warning badly. But it turns out that Woods was extremely gracious in how he took the surprise loss.
“I don’t know what made me think of it while we were chewing the bacon fat over breakfast, but I remembered Tiger once having chipped in at Muirfield Village and running round the green doing very animated fist pumps,” he wrote.
“‘Hey Tiger’, I said, ‘If you chip in today and start one of those ——- exaggerated celebrations running round the green and fist-pumping, then I’ll give you a slap across the face’.
“To which Tiger replied something along the lines of, ‘Go away, you overweight sod; you couldn’t catch me anyway’.”
He went on to add: “By the time I’d done the presentation ceremony and the media, Tiger was long gone, but he’d left a note on my locker. ‘Congratulations, be proud’. There was a PS, however, with a ruder comment about my physique. I have the note framed at home.”