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One of our greatest moments was marred for me by another piece of Sky shoddiness. We have waited three years for a British win in America and what happens when we get one - Sky switch to another event and we miss the presentation. I was not impressed and I am not placated by them showing it the following day. This is not a defence of my client Darren Clarke and his stunning success in Akron at the WGC NEC |
Invitational, but week after week we watch Peter Kostis interviewing American after American after their wins and when we get one of our own, it’s off to the US Amateur we go. It is not good enough. We have few enough heroes in Britain without switching them off when one comes good.
Let’s have a bit of consistency Sky and be proud of what we have. The switch off left me fuming. Nothing should have detracted from what was ISM’s greatest triumph to date, but just when our screens should have been full of the smiling face of a champion, we were left wondering what he said to American viewers after he’d lifted the trophy. The triumph will do much for Darren’s profile in America coming just three years after his previous biggest win in another WGC event - the Accenture Match Play in California. He is already very popular there with players and galleries and I am told he received a fantastic reception at the prize giving. It would have been nice to have seen it live, but I suppose a bit of common sense would have been too much to have asked from the programme schedulers. The Majors may have come and gone this season, but it is far from over for all our guys and none more than Darren. Having known the disappointment of being pipped for the Order of Merit title when Lee Westwood prevailed in 2000, he will not want to let another chance pass by. Darren’s $1million payday has lifted him to second in the rankings behind Ernie Els… and with the South African unlikely to play many if any more European Tour events this season, it is now up to Big D to lift the big one. So much hard work had gone into his season for so little reward until last weekend that now I expect him to move to the next level and if he can pick up the money list title on the way, then all well and good. Some players are late developers and win Major championships later in their careers - Nick Price and Mark O’Meara being perfect examples. At 35, Darren has seven or eight years left at the top and that’s where he wants to get before he’s finished. Don’t expect Sky to be there when he completes his journey. They will be probably showing underwater chess.
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