Double-bogey ruins Clarke’s open title bid

David Duval has won the 130th Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

The American finished three shots ahead of closest rival Niclas Fasth with a final round of 67.

However, the outcome could have been all so different if Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke hadn’t double bogeyed the 17th. Playing well, the Dungannon golfer was the closest British challenger to the American but a wayward opening drive into a bunker at the penultimate hole cost him dearly. Those vital dropped shots resulted in a final round of 70, four shots behind Duval, leaving him in a six-way tie for third place.

Meanwhile, Wales’s Ian Woosnam suffered a huge blow immediately after nearly claiming a hole-in-one at the opening hole. The Welshman was given a two-stroke penalty when officials noticed that he had been carrying one club to many in his bag on that same opening hole. (MB)