Clarke in hot pursuit of title

Darren Clarke today put himself in the driving seat at the £2million Smurfit European Open, and then revealed he has succumbed yet again to an addiction for exotic cars.

Clarke opened his campaign with a four-under-par 68 to secure joint second spot in the clubhouse at the K Club knowing that the winner's cheque worth £333,330 would just about pay for the latest additions to his garage - a top-of-the-range Mercedes and a third Ferrari.

The Surrey-based Ulsterman said: "I've seven cars in all, but I'm running out of room. I might have to offload one or two."

If only the rest of us had to contend with such problems, but then we wouldn't be able to tame a beast of course spread out over beautiful Kildare countryside with four birdies and not a single dropped shot.

Clarke, whose set the course record of 12-under-par 60 here two years ago, said: "I only missed three greens in regulation which I'm very pleased about because the course is set up in a way that rewards keeping the ball on the fairway."

Without a European Tour win in over a year, Clarke's return to form mirrors that of Colin Montgomerie, who followed up his victory in the Murphy's Irish Open on Sunday by matching Clarke's clubhouse score with a bogey-free round.