Clarke splits up with Open-winning caddie

London: Darren Clarke has parted company with the caddie that helped him win his first major championship in the British Open at Sandwich in July.

ISM, the player`s management team, told Reuters on Monday that Clarke`s split with John Mulrooney was amicable and had come after he missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday. The 43-year-old Northern Irishman will keep his options open on a replacement bagman as he practises over the next three weeks ahead of his return to competitive golf at the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona on February 22, said ISM. Mulrooney took over as Clarke`s full-time caddie after the former Ryder Cup player won the Iberdrola Open in Majorca in May. Clarke has been out of sorts since his victory at Sandwich, his best result a 20th-place finish at the Volvo Golf Champions tournament in South Africa two weeks ago. He slumped to rounds of 72 and 81 at the European Tour event in Abu Dhabi. Bureau Report