SELBY Golf Club's Nick Ludwell ensured himself a share of the prize pot at the Forest of Arden as he finished the Compass English Open in level par.

He shot 71 in the second round, following an opening round level par 72, to be one under and make the cut and rounds of 73 and 72 in the final two rounds ensured Ludwell a very respectable finish in a star-studded event.

Darren Clarke stretched his lead at the top of Europe's Order of Merit - and gave himself the perfect boost for the coming US Open - with a successful defence of his English Open crown.

Ten strokes behind Michael Campbell at halfway and still six adrift of the New Zealander with a round to play, Clarke came roaring through to collect the £130,390 title with a spectacular 10-birdie 65.

He pushed Campbell and last year's Ryder Cup captain Mark James - still at the centre of controversy over his Brookline book - into second place after grabbing four successive birdies from the 13th.

Clarke, who finished on the 13-under-par total of 275, said: "That's the first time I've defended a title and it was great to do it that way.

"I knew I was playing well. I gave myself a lot of chances from about 10 feet and the putter was working."

After being outplayed by Campbell on the first two days - the Kiwi, having opened up a tour record six-stroke lead with his first round 63 - Clarke spoke with American coach Butch Harmon and got called "all sorts of names."

The Ulsterman explained: "He started by calling me a 'fat bleep, bleep, bleep', but it's all done in a friendly way and I know he has my best interests at heart.

"His call did the trick and he can call me whatever he wants in future if it always has that effect. I do retaliate, by the way!"

Harmon's most famous client is world number one Tiger Woods, whom Clarke beat to win a million dollars in the World Match Play championship in California in February.

Now he returns to the west coast of America in a week's time for the second major of the year - and Clarke looks ahead to his first trip to Pebble Beach by saying: "I know I can win."

After the insults, Harmon's technical message was to slightly alter the takeaway of Clarke, who after the first round had changed from MacGregor to Titleist irons.

"Those clubs won me a million dollars, so I think I will frame them. But I've had them for six or seven years and they were almost worn out.

"I don't have a club contract, so I'm free to use whatever I want. It was going to happen sooner or later - it just became sooner."

Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie did not achieve the wins they were hoping for going to Pebble Beach. Westwood, second with a round to go, fell back to joint fourth with a 72 and Montgomerie matched that to finish "only" eighth.