Rory McIlroy's challenge failed to materialise at the Open Championship on Saturday and it was another Northern Irishman, Darren Clarke, who won the plaudits on a tough day at Royal St. George's, with the popular Ulsterman carding an impressive 69 to remain top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday's final round.

The 42-year-old is a popular figure on the PGA Tour with his easy going charm winning over both players and fans alike and there are very few golf fans who would begrudge Clarke a long overdue major win, after his disappointment at the Open in 1997 and 2001. Clarke has also had to deal, publicly, with his wife, Heather's death from cancer in 2006 and it is to his credit that he rejected calls to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year that year, claiming that he didn't want to win on a "sympathy vote".

That may not be an issue this year as the man from Portrush has garnered praise this week on his golfing ability alone. He has been the best player over the first three days at Sandwich and is the only man in the field at the Open to have shot three sub par rounds in what have been very challenging conditions.

Clarke's ability to play links golf has never been in doubt. His three best results at major championships have all been at the Open and his ability to play in poor weather is what has set him apart from many of his contemporaries. He has negotiated the first 54 holes at Royal St. George's have been a joy to watch and, but for a few missed putts, he could easily have wrapped up the 2011 title already.

That is not the case and Clarke goes into Sunday's final round with just a one shot lead over American Dustin Johnson. The 27-year-old has played some fantastic golf this week but he has a habit of falling at the final hurdle, as illustrated by losses in both the 2010 US Open and USPGA, when he led going into the final round only to lose out to Europeans Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer.

It could be third time unlucky for Johnson as, although he has been solid this week, he is yet to produce a scintillating score at Sandwich and he is unlikely to go out and shoot a score in the low 60s on Sunday. Clarke knows that he needs only to stay ahead of his playing partner in order to win the Claret Jug and his excellent match play record suggests that he will be able to win a head-to-head battle. The Northern Irishman has a three shot lead over the rest of the field and no-one so far this week has out-scored him by more than three in any round this week, therefore, he is a relatively confident pick to be a popular winner of the 2011 Open Championship, at odds of 11/4 with bet365.

Recommendation

Open 2011 winner - Darren Clarke (11/4, bet365)