May23 Clarke in Wentworth
Published: Last updated:
Darren Clarke has confirmed he will play in this week’s BMW PGA Championship after injuring his hand in an off-road accident last week.
Organisers were fretting he’d be the third player to pull out of the marquee event, after defending champion David Howell and Ian Woosnam quit on Tuesday.
Clarke missed last week’s Irish Open because of a hamstring strain suffered in a kickabout with his two sons.
The latest knock came at the weekend, when he was off-roading.
The Ryder Cup star said: “I have two off-road buggies with cages on them – the boys have got one and I’ve got one.”
“I was out on Sunday messing about. Then I flipped it and rolled it over!
“I banged my hand against the ground and ended up hanging upside down in the buggy. I could have done myself serious damage.
“I’ve been out on it about 15 times and I’ve never even threatened to flip it. It’s 250cc and I was lucky that this was all I did.’
His hand swelled up, but has since settled down. “I had an MRI scan and there are no broken bones, no tendon damage.
“I’m a jinx right now and you wouldn’t want to be hanging around me at the minute. But what am I going to do – wrap myself up in cotton wool?”
Clarke’s next event after this week is the US Open qualifier at Walton Heath on Monday week.
