LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England -- Darren Clarke turned in the claret jug Monday. Now, hes ready to start playing like the guy who won a major title. Clarke effectively finished off his yearlong reign as British Open champion by surrendering the chalice to R&A chief executive Peter Dawson outside the clubhouse at Royal Lytham. "I didnt really want to give it back, obviously," Clarke said. "The year has gone amazingly fast. Its been an honour and a privilege for me to represent the R&A and bring the claret jug all over the world." While Clarke fully savored the triumph of his first major championship, he hasnt done much on the course since that magical week at Royal St. Georges. He didnt even make it to the weekend at the last three majors, missing the cut at both the PGA Championship and the Masters, then withdrawing from the U.S. Open with an injury. He hasnt finished higher than 17th at any event. "I dont know if its because of winning the Open championship or not, but Ive certainly fallen into a little bit of a trap of trying to play better, and trying too hard as opposed to just going and playing," Clarke conceded. "I got a little caught up and tried too hard. Unfortunately, thats the nature of our game. You get success at the highest level, and it just creates some more. I want to win again and I want to win bigger and better tournaments. There is none better than the Open championship, but I want to win the big tournaments. I just pushed myself too hard to do that." Hes hopeful of turning things around this week. A native of Northern Ireland, he considers his game well-suited to dealing with the persnickety British weather, which has been downright nasty most of the summer. Howling winds? Driving rain? Bring it on, he said. "I grew up in it," Clarke said. "I played a lot of links golf at home in Ireland, and we havent always had good weather over there. The course is going to play really tough this week. Its quite narrow. The rough is very, very penal, and were forecasted for some rough weather. But thats the Open championship. Thats what we expect, and thats what were going to get. If conditions are tough, that doesnt particularly bother me. Thats fine." No matter the weather, his first priority is getting his game in order. The victory at Royal St. Georges was attributed largely to a steady putter. Clarke hasnt been able to maintain his magic touch on the greens, though its hardly his only flaw. "My whole game has been very, very average," Clark said. "You go through spells when you putt well and spells where you dont. Patience is obviously something Ive had to have an awful lot of this past year, and maybe this week things will turn around get and Ill start knocking a few in. But its an ongoing process as long as youre out here on tour." Turns out, Clarkes game isnt the only thing thats taken a bit of a beating. The claret jug needs some repairs, too. "Its not quite in as good a condition as I received it in," Clarke said. "Its been here, there and everywhere. But Mr. Dawson looked at it and said, Oh, we can fix that, we can fix this. So its not too bad." He was a bit vague on the details of the damage. "I didnt drop it," Clarke said. "Not in my possession. I shall say no more. It was nothing to do with me. (But) its not that bad." Another benefit to being a British Open champion is getting a special spot in the locker room that is reserved for past winners. Actually, Clarke received that perk a year early at Royal St. Georges. "I got my locker, and I was beside Mr. Watson (five-time Open champion Tom Watson) and a few of the other guys," Clarke recalled. "I couldnt quite figure out -- Why am I in this locker? -- and it was due to the late withdrawal of Greg Norman. Mr. Dawson decided, Well, who else can we put in there that wont offend anybody, that wont do anything? So they stuck me in the champions area of the locker room last year." Turned out to be a prescient move. "Im back in the same area, the champions area," Clarke said, "but having won it, Ive earned my place in that part of the locker room this time." One thing he didnt do during his reign as champion: drink from the claret jug. That strikes a lot of folks as strange, considering the Ulsterman is well known for his love of a stiff drink. Many of them, in fact. He celebrated all night long after winning the Open, showing up a news conference the next day with bleary, bloodshot eyes. But the claret jug was never used to hold a beverage, not on his watch. Clarke was tempted a few times -- especially in the days long celebration after his victory, then again at Christmas -- but he reserved all toasting for the replica trophy that every champion receives for their permanent collection. The actual claret jug remained dry. "It is just too special a trophy," Clarke said. "I have so much respect for the Open championship, and I couldnt get myself to do it. I thought about it a few times, but I couldnt get myself to do it." Then, he added mischievously, "I dont need to have a jug to drink out of." Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Ryan Spanglers intense play has fueled Oklahomas growth this season. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . Thompson was assessed a game misconduct after the Rangers beat the Islanders with a power-play goal by Marian Gaborik. The NHL said in a statement that Thompson will miss the next two games because of "inappropriate and abusive comments" he directed at on-ice officials. http://www.cheapjerseysauthentic.cc/[/... . In a year that saw him put together a 30-game hitting streak, the 29-year-old outfielder has been shut down for the rest of the season with a right knee injury, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Thursday before the start of their doubleheader with the Washington Nationals. 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Chalmers went on a personal 9-0 run in a 39-second span of the period, Bosh led all scorers with 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting, and the Heat went on to beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-88 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory. "We just try to get out in transition, let our defence be our offence most of the time and keep working from there," Chalmers said. Ray Allen scored 17 in his first game back from a bout with the flu. Chalmers had 12 of his 14 in the third quarter for the Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade for the second time this season. James finished with a season-low 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Heat (8-3), and no starter played in the final 12 minutes while backups put away the game. "Were very confident in our lineup we got, man," James said. "Those guys continue to play well. They continue to work together and its great to have a Hall of Famer in that lineup with Ray coming back." Mike Scott scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Atlanta, which got 12 points apiece from Al Horford and Pero Antic. Kyle Korver made three 3-pointers for the Hawks, extending his streak to 84 consecutive games with at least one make from beyond the arc, five shy of matching Dana Barros NBA record. "Its a constant battle," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said of playing the Heat. "They take away something. Hopefully you can find something else. At times we did and at times we didnt." Miamis lead was 56-54 in the third quarter when Chalmers got hot -- in a hurry. James Jones, who started in place of Wade, actually started what became a 15-2 run with a 3-pointer, and then Chalmers got going. He cut across the lane for a reverse layup while getting fouled, then made a 3-pointer from the left wing after an Atlanta turnover. Jeff Teague missed a layup on the next Atlanta possession, James wound up throwing a chest pass from about 50 feet to Chalmers, who pulled up on the catch and connected on another 3-pointer from the same spot. Justt like that, 56-54 became 68-54.dddddddddddd And Bosh provided one of the nights highlights by giving the crowd a rather comical thumbs-up after his dive into the expensive seats, plus was thrilled to learn afterward that the photo quickly made its rounds on social media. "You dont get to go in the stands much," Bosh said. Atlanta carved the deficit to 10 entering the fourth, but the Heat -- with five reserves on the court -- then showed off their depth. Allen scored Miamis first 12 points of the final quarter, Michael Beasley added the next four, and the Heat lead grew 94-78 with 5 minutes remaining, ensuring that the two-time defending NBA champions would keep their starters on the bench for the entirety of the final period. Norris Cole finished with eight points, nine assists and five rebounds for Miami. "Our starters are rooting them on," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They understand the importance of that group." Neither team led by more than six points in the first half, one where the Hawks held James scoreless for the first 16 minutes. James never really got on a sustained roll offensively, though Miami didnt need him to get there, either. James scored 10 points in the second quarter, and only three in the rest of the game. Even without Wade, and on a night Miami used its sixth starting lineup in 11 games, that didnt matter. "Theyre a great defensive team," Korver said. "They were able to really trap the ball. With LeBron in the back, theyre able to cover every passing angle - it seems like that. Nothing really feels open." Atlanta was without forward Paul Millsap, out with right elbow tendinitis. Gustavo Ayon started in his place. NOTES: Heat F Udonis Haslem had a fairly odd stat line: seven points and six fouls in eight minutes, the fastest anyone has fouled out of an NBA game since Feb. 16, 2011. Haslem had missed Miamis last four games with back spasms. ... James is now two free throws away from the 5,000th make from the line in his career. ... Spoelstra improved his winning percentage to .6617. If Miami wins at Orlando on Wednesday, he would pass legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach (.6619) on the NBAs career list, among coaches with more than 400 games. ... Atlanta finished with 22 assists, and the Hawks have had at least 20 in every game this season. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys Ra... Ramos Jersey ' ' '