Darren Clarke is going on a diet. Maybe.
The British Open champion has had a running joke for years with his even stouter agent, Chubby Chandler, about counting calories. Clarke, who arrived at a post-victory press conference with a pint of Guinness, laid out his post-Open plan.
"I'm on Weight Watchers tomorrow morning," he said Monday. "I'm at Chubby's apartment, so I'm going to eat and drink as much as I want tonight and he's going to help me on it tomorrow morning."
But when pressed for goals, it became clear that the newly-crowned Open champion was a little bit low on commitment.
"I'll probably get bored with it in a week and give up," he said. "I think this could probably be a bad week for me to try and start. I think there are five points in a pint of Guinness."
Four, actually.
The truth is that Clarke's been very regimented about his fitness for nearly a decade. He dropped somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 pounds back in 2003-2004. Clarke knew he needed to get in better shape to accomplish his goals in golf. The needling he got about his weight from his fellow competitors probably added motivation.
Tiger Woods playfully calls him "fat." It started in 2000 after Clarke defeated Woods at the Andersen Consulting Match Play final.
"He left a note in my locker," Clarke said. "Congratulations, be proud. P.S.: You're still [fat]. Tiger."
Clarke isn't anymore, though, and with some help he's been able to keep the weight off. According to his website, the first-time major winner has a personal trainer and exercises about six times a week, even during tournaments.
So maybe Weight Watchers is indeed on the horizon after all. As long as friends and well-wishers stop buying him beers.
