Tiger Woods might not have played in last week’s British Open, but he possibly still had a small influence on the outcome at Royal St George’s.

According to reports the former world No 1 sent two very detailed sms messages, one of them apparently longer than a hundred words, to Darren Clarke on Saturday night before the final round and Clarke went on to win the first Major of his career.

Clarke’s manager, Chubby Chandler, said, "The messages weren’t just ‘play well’ messages either. It was a real bit of sports psychology."

Neither Chandler nor Clarke were willing to say exactly what Woods had written in the messages, but Clarke did say after his win that Tiger’s messages "were very much appreciated and helped when it came to believing that I could win."

Clarke said he also received a congratulatory phone call from Woods after the final round.

Woods wrote on Twitter that he was "very happy for Darren Clarke, well deserved win."