Five years ago, Darren Clake and Paul McGinley had a falling out.
Once good friends, their relationship fell apart over the Ryder Cup captaincy.
Prior to the selection of the European captain for 2014, Clarke had contacted McGinley giving the Dubliner his support to lead Europe at Gleneagles.
Later, Clarke would appear to renege on his support of McGliney as he put himself forward and then backed Colin Montgomerie.
The confusion regarding Clarke's position led to McGinley feeling betrayed.
The frigid relationship between the two would continue until just last month when they met at a driving range in Dubai.
Speaking to The Mail On Sunday, Clarke told Oliver Holt how his relationship with McGinley was mended.
Paul and I had a great conversation in Dubai. We must have stood and talked for an hour on the range. He was giving me tips and advice about what he had done. We had a great conversation there and I apologised to him.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I have made some mistakes in my career. We have all made some mistakes. I held my hands up and I got things wrong. Just with what was going on around that time.
Did I support Monty that much? No. I was just trying to do what I thought was the right thing for the team. I wasn’t against Paul. I just saw options.
I got accused of all sorts of bits and pieces, which were incorrect at the time. There was no point in me saying a word because I wasn’t going to go anywhere with it. All I was concerned about was doing the right thing for Europe and things got twisted and taken out of my hands.
This September - at Hazeltine - as McGinley did in Scotland, Clarke will captain the European Ryder Cup team.
His captaincy and the need to pick McGinley's brains partially motivated Clarke's decision to 'bury the hatchet' with his fellow golfer.
I let things go. I have moved on. I have made my peace with Paul and he was brilliant in Dubai. I can go back to him and run things past him. He said: 'Whatever you want, let me know.'
We have buried the hatchet and we are moving forward. We have drawn a line under it. He offered me all sorts of advice. He couldn’t have been better. That feels good because we were very close growing up all the way through our careers.
I made some mistakes and hopefully they are mistakes I won’t make again in the future. Everybody makes them now and again and if you are a big enough man, you understand that you have done it. The reason why our relationship broke down was my fault and that’s fine. I am big enough to accept it.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
