Clarke wears Santa outfit after loosing Westwood Dunlop bet

Darren Clarke wore all red at yesterday's USPGA Championship after loosing Dunlop's Par 3 Challenge to Lee Westwood

Dunlop
The Dunlop Par 3 Challenge final scoreboard

Darren Clarke wore all red at yesterday's USPGA Championship after loosing Dunlop's Par 3 Challenge to Lee Westwood

Darren Clarke wore all red at yesterday's USPGA Championship after loosing Dunlop's Par 3 Challenge to Lee Westwood.

The two went head to head at the Masters, US Open and Open Championship, with the player recording the best cumulative score on par 3s over the three tournaments choosing the other's first-round outfit in the year's final major.

Westwood - who won the challenge - decided Clarke looks like Santa Claus with his new grey beard, so opted for a fitting all-red outfit.

The Englishman also earned £10,500 from Dunlop to give to a cause of his choice. He chose Thornhill Golf Club, where a number of his friends and family are members.

"The Dunlop Par 3 Challenge has been great fun and has given me some serious power this week," said Westwood, who shot an opening 65 at Valhalla to lead the way after round 1.

"I've been saying to Darren that his new facial hair is making him look more like Father Christmas every day, so maybe he'll have a rethink!

"Thornhill GC will also be getting a nice cheque from Dunlop, which will go a long way for a club of its size."

Clarke, who shot an eight-over-par 79 in round one, added:

"I personally think the beard looks great but obviously Lee disagrees. I'm prepared to get some stick but it's in good nature so I'll happily take it on the chin."

Clarke and Westwood both endorse Dunlop clothing and receive a £2m bonus for every Major Championship victory.

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x