Darren Clarke Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood And Early Life

Professional golfer Darren Clarke was born on the 14 August 1968 in Dungannon, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

Education

Darren Clarke attended Wake Forest University in the United States.

Rise To Fame

Darren Clarke was a junior member of Dungannon Golf Club. He also represented Royal School Dungannon. He won the East of Ireland Championship (1989), the Spanish Amateur Open, the Irish Amateur Close Championship (1990) and the South of Ireland Champsionship (1990).

Career

Darren Clarke turned professional in 1990, and his first European Tour took place in 1991. At the 1991 Open Championship, he tied for 64th place and in 1992, on the European Tour he finished No.41. In 1993, he won the Alfred Dunhill Open, and from then onwards his career took off, winning over 21 championships.

Darren Clarke won the PGA Tour in 2000, beating Tiger Woods. He won the Compass Group English Open (2002), the PGA Tour (2003) and was in the European team which won the Ryder Cup (2002 & 2004). Other wins include the BMW Asian Open in China (2008), the KLM Open in The Netherlands (2008), the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am at Adare Manor, Ireland (2010), the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca (2011), the 140th Open Championship at Royal St George’s Kent (2011). Clare was appointed Europe’s Ryder Cup captain in 2015. Overall Clarke has had 21 professional victories and is recognized as one of the greats of modern golf.

Personal Life

Darren Clarke married Heather in 1996, and the couple had two sons, Tyrone and Conor. Heather died in August 2006 from breast cancer. His second wife is Alison Campbell, nee Smyth, a former Miss Northern Ireland whom he married in 2012.

Philanthropy

The Darren Clarke Foundation is an organization Clarke founded in 2002 to assist junior Irish golfers. The Foundation also works with Breast Cancer Awareness.