GOLF - Clarke cheques in with first-up win

The omens are good for budding golf pro Dale Clarke, with the former Sherwood Park player picking up a winner's cheque at his first ever first professional tournament in Australia earlier this week.
The $1500 cheque he received for winning the $10,000 Curlewis Pro-Am sits on his bedroom wall to remind him of his good fortune.
"I was over the moon at winning my first ever Pro-Am so when they gave me one of those giant cheques, I put it straight on my wall," he said.
Clarke finished the one-round Pro-Am event with a five-under par 67, sharing first place with seasoned Victorian professional Craig Scott. He was later congratulated for his efforts by the PGA tournament director at the event.
"He told me no-one had ever won their first ever tournament on the tour, so I was pretty stoked with that," he said.
Clarke left Whangarei in July last year and was one of 35 players to earn a provisional Australasian PGA card at the qualifying tournament at the Peninsula Country Golf Club in Frankston, Victoria, in December. The provisional card gets him entry to the most - but not all - of the PGA tournaments and the 23-year-old will be working toward gaining full membership next season.
"Winning this will help my position in the order of merit and also help my national ranking but I won't get on that until I've completed 45 rounds - so that's still a long way off," he said.
Clarke also played well in his second tournament of the week, the Devilbend Pro-Am, to finish in a share of eighth place with a one-under 70.
"I played really good on Wednesday as well, it was a hilly course and quite a challenge, but the difference was I didn't hole as many putts," he said.
Clarke earned $290 for his efforts at his second tournament as a professional.
That's not too bad - considering the course was only a 30-minute drive from his flat and, apart from the $25 entry fee, he had no other expenses.
He starts his third professional tournament today at the Safety Beach Country Club and will continue to play the smaller tournaments in Victoria leading up to the $110,000 Victorian PGA tournament at the end of the month.