Clarke gets his first major
SANDWICH, ENGLAND (TheSpread) – It took 20 tries, but Darren Clarke finally won his first British Open, as he prevailed at Royal St. Georges on Sunday by three shots.
Clarke hadn’t finished in the top 10 of a major championship since 2001, but was steady all week, shooting a 70 or below in every round to win the title by three shots over Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog, Clarke had 125/1 odds to win the British Open coming into the week, meaning a $100 wager on Clarke will pay out an additional $12,500.
Mickelson was the surprise finisher in the tournament, as he was tied with Clarke for the lead during Sunday’s round. Mickelson went 5-under on the front nine and was 6-under after 10 holes. But, a stretch of four bogeys in six holes took him out of contention.
Dustin Johnson was one shot behind Clarke to start the day, but a slow start kept him from ever contending too seriously. A double bogey on hole No. 14 sealed his fate as runner-up.
2011 British Open Top 10 Results
1 Darren Clarke -5 (275)
T2 Phil Mickelson -2 (278)
T2 Dustin Johnson -2 (278)
4 Thomas Bjorn -1 (279)
T5 Chad Campbell E (280)
T5 Anthony Kim E (280)
T5 Rickie Fowler E (280)
8 Raphael Jacquelin +1 (281)
T9 Sergio Garcia +2 (282)
T9 Simon Dyson +2 (282)
T9 Davis Love III +2 (282)
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!
