Clarke splits with caddie

Darren Clarke has parted company with caddie John Mulrooney, the man with whom he won The Open Championship at Sandwich last July.

Open champion opts to part company with bag man

Darren Clarke has parted company with caddie John Mulrooney, the man with whom he won The Open Championship at Sandwich last July. Clarke took the decision after missing the halfway cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship over the weekend. The Ulsterman finished well down the field after following a level-par opening 72 with a disappointing 81 in Friday's second round. The 43-year-old has struggled for form since his memorable major triumph and has not managed a top-10 finish since that victory at Royal St George's. Clarke's management stable, ISM, have insisted that the split is amicable and report that he will now spend the next few weeks considering Mulrooney's replacement. Clarke's next competitive outing will be the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona at the end of February and he will hope to have a new man in place for that event. Mulrooney took over as Clarke's full-time caddie after the former Ryder Cup player won the Iberdrola Open in Majorca in May of last year.