How Darren Clarke's path to the PGA Tour could've run through The Fox Club

PALM CITY — It’s fitting that Darren Clarke and The Fox Club are in the news.

Clarke birdied his final hole Sunday to win the Senior Open Championship at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. The Northern Irishman became the fourth player to win The Open and the Senior Open, joining Hall of Famers Tom Watson, Gary Player and Bob Charles.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I wanted to win this more than anything after I turned 50,” Clarke said. “This trophy will look good sitting beside the other one. I’m humbled and privileged to have my name on both alongside some legends of the game.”

The Palm City-based Fox Club also received attention recently when it was announced the 18-hole, semi-private club had been acquired by the Cape Club. The Fox Club has been temporarily closed as the new owners make a “multi seven-figure investment.”

When it’s scheduled to be re-opened mid-November, it will be known as the Cape Club of Palm City. This is the latest sale and name change for a club that opened in 1989 as Cobblestone and has gone through various ownerships since.

“I’m on my fifth owner in five years,” said Kristi Tower, the club’s general manager.

Recent: Former tennis pro Mardy Fish eager to show off his golf game at 3M Open

More Junior Golf: Hobe Sound's Andie Smith bounces back, on cusp of U.S. Women's Amateur

More Craig Dolch: Port St. Lucie’s Gloria Nip wins Brendan Cunningham Junior Open

What does Clarke have to do with this story? The original plan 20 years ago was for the club to serve as his U.S. base as he transitioned from the European Tour to the PGA Tour/PGA Tour Champions.

But those plans changed when Clarke’s wife, Heather, was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2006. Clarke still visited the club and, along with former top amateur Eoghan O’Connell, re-designed the Roy Case layout in 2017.

But the life Clarke envisioned in Palm City never materialized as planned. He concentrated on raising his two children, re-married Alison Campbell in 2012 and spends most of his time in the Bahamas.

Clarke always felt at home in South Florida, winning the 2020 TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton for his first victory since the 2011 Open. The Fox Club also has moved on, its owners once including Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford.

The new ownership’s plans are ambitious and eye-catching. One of the major changes will be the addition of brilliant “Augusta-white” bunker sand, which has become a signature feature of the Cape Cod’s clubs in Falmouth and Sharon.

The cart paths will include new white coquina, bunkers will be added to the driving range and there will be “player-friendly design/enhancements to holes 10 and 18.”

Having played the risk-reward closing hole a few times, where the water-lined green can produce scores between 4 and 14, I wondered what changes will be made to soften the risk.

“We’re keeping that under wraps for right now,” Tower said of the 18th hole. “We have a plan, and we’ll see if it comes to fruition.”

The competition for high-end, private membership on the Treasure Coast has become stout in recent years as new courses being built by Michael Jordan (Grove XXIII), McArthur, Tom Fazio/Discovery Land and billionaire Steven Ross make it a golfer’s market.

“There are a lot of great courses locally, but our product speaks for itself,” Tower said. “Our ownership has a history of taking over distressed courses and making them very successful. Our membership here will be by-invitation only.”

Tower said the Cape Club at Palm City will have a social component as they hope to get into the wedding/private party business. A back patio at the clubhouse is being extended for such occasions.

“We’ve gotten some calls that people aren’t happy we’re not going to be semi-private anymore,” she said. “They’ll just have to become members to enjoy what we offer.”

Chip shots: Former Vero Beach resident Mardy Fish had an up-and-down performance while making his PGA Tour debut in last week’s 3M Open. Playing on a sponsor exemption, Fish didn’t make a birdie during his opening 10-over 81. But the former top-ranked American tennis player had three birdies in his first seven holes in the second round, finishing with a respectable 74. Fish beat three PGA Tour members and finished ahead of former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who withdrew after putting a sleeve of balls in the water on the final hole of his first round … Will Davenport of Palm City teamed with Richard Donegan of Jupiter to shoot a 9-under 63 and earn a spot in next month’s Florida Four-Ball Championship at The Club at Quail Ridge in Boynton Beach … Gloria Nip of Port St. Lucie almost won her second consecutive South Florida PGA junior major championship, finishing second in last week’s Patty Berg Junior Championship. Nip won the recent Brendan Cunningham Junior Open.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Darren Clarke's path to PGA Tour could've run through The Fox Club