Darren Clarke has confirmed he will return to the US PGA Tour for the first time in seven years and since the death of his first wife.
The Northern Irishman is taking advantage of a five-year tour exemption he earned from winning the 2011 British Open.
If the 45-year-old doesn’t qualify for the European Tour’s finals, he could restart on the US tour at the McGladrey Championship in Georgia on November 7.
“I’ve decided I will be taking up my US tour card next season but that does not mean abandoning Europe,” Clarke said in a statement from his management company ISM on Thursday.
Clarke, who hasn’t won since that Open, forfeited his US tour membership after the death of his first wife Heather from cancer in 2006, and concentrated on the European Tour to be closer to his two sons.
He has since remarried and decided to take advantage of the remainder of his exemption.
Fellow major winner Padraig Harrington was among those delighted with Clarke’s decision.
“It’s good to see him taking this move as it’s a good sign also where he’s at,” Harrington said at the KLM Open.