GOLF - Clarke returns for Classic

It will be something of a homecoming for golfer Dale Clarke when he tees off tomorrow at this weekend's City of Whangarei Classic at Sherwood Park.
The 22-year-old golfer has played for fun, as a professional and has caddied for others during his two years away but now Clarke is back where he started out - as one of the frontrunners at the event that traditionally precedes the naming of Northland's men's interprovincial teams on Sunday.
The return of Clarke, now that he has regained his amateur status after a brief flirtation with the Europro Tour in England, is a huge bonus for the Northland selectors.
Clarke virtually grew up at the course where his father Derek has been the professional for more than a decade. "We used to live less than a kilometre down the road so I know it fairly well. My last round there was a 67 - but it's a bit harder off the black tees."
The withdrawal of last year's champion Brad Bonnington from the event makes Clarke, the two-time champion, the favourite, with Northland No.1 Gary-John Hill his main competition.
Clarke is likely to be chosen as the Northland No.3 to play at this year's interprovincial championships at Mount Maunganui at the beginning of December.
Hill is likely to retain his No.1 slot ahead of Bonnington but this weekend's 54-hole strokeplay tournament will go a long way to deciding the remaining positions.
Northland selector Graeme Hill said little separated the players competing to fill the No.4 and No.5 spots in the team.
Mangawhai's Gene Wintle and schoolboy star Alvin Rapana will be staking their claims, while Waipu's Tony Mayo and Mangawhai's Gavin Welsh are also in the running.
The tournament also doubles as a trial for Northland masters and junior men's teams for their respective national tournaments.
Clarke has learned a lot from his travels. His short stint on the Europro Tour was doomed, he said, without wealthy sponsors - something that fellow Northlander Alex Tait also found out eventually.
Clarke's New York experience was much more enjoyable: "It was pretty much exactly like the 1980 comic golf movie Caddyshack" he said. "The golf club I worked at was at a Jewish community and most of them were ex-Fortune 500 CEOs and it cost them about $150,000 to join plus $20,000 a year in fees. It was a little weird but it paid well."