Northern Ireland has a population over under 2 million yet we are faced with the very real prospect of three different major winners from the country in a little over a year. After Graeme McDowell's triumph at the US Open at Pebble Beach last year, and his great friend Rory McIlroy's unforgettable victory at the same tournament last month, it is 42 year old Clarke from Dungannon who has the chance to break his major duck.
Victory is far from a formality however. Clarke has played beautifully this week with three rounds in the 60s yet, having missed a number of makeable putts yesterday, Clarke finds himself a single shot clear of the American Dustin Johnson.
In fact it appears certain golf commentators trying to write obitauries of American golf may have been slightly premature. Johnson's 68 was the round of the day and put him at 4 under going into Sunday. He will play with Darren Clarke in the final group. Even more impressive was fellow countryman Rickie Fowler's 68, the 22 year old battling horrendous conditions to equal the best round of the day.
Fowler is very much in the hunt at 2 under, as are former US Open champion Lucas Glover (-1) and Phil Mickelson (level par).
Nor should we forget the two other Europeans Jimenez and Bjorn who are trying to gatecrash the American party.
So after Dustin Johnson's ace on Thursday and Tom Watson's "slam dunk" on the par-3 sixth on Friday the Open reaches its climax in Sandwich this Sunday evening.
If pressed to back a winner then I'd have a few pounds on Rickie Fowler, the former amateur number one destined for great things.
Patrick Kendrick
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