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Darren Clarke (Paddy Briggs, Wikimedia Commons)

When Darren Clarke’s wife Heather died of cancer in 2006, the entire golf community mourned. But in the last five years, Clarke’s life has turned around a little. Last year, he got engaged to Miss Northern Ireland Alison Campbell, and after round two of the British Open on Friday, Clarke and American Lucas Glover are tied for the lead at -4.

Clarke, who is 42 years of age, is trying to become the third golfer from Northern Ireland to win a major. Graeme McDowell won the 2010 United States Open and Rory McIlroy won the 2011 United States Open.

Glover, meanwhile, is no stranger to major success himself, as he won the 2009 United States Open at Bethpage Black in New York.

However, Clarke and Glover are just the co-leaders in southeast England and have a long ways to go. A remarkable 31 players are within four strokes of the lead. Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez are in a group at -3, Americans Tom Lehman, Davis Love III and Dustin Johnson are in a group at -2, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and English amateur Tom Lewis are in a group at -1, and Y.E. Yang, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia are in a group at even.

TSN’s coverage begins at 4am Saturday morning. I’m waking up when Garcia is teeing off, at 5:25am Mountain Time.

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