Darren Clarke suffers "stiffness" from car accident

Golfer Darren Clarke is recovering from a car accident that he was involved in last week.

The 44-year-old was an unhurt passenger in the incident but will be unable to compete in the Dubai Desert Classic.

"Darren was involved in a minor traffic accident last week and is suffering from a bit of stiffness," a spokesman from Clarke's management ISM told the Irish Examiner. "That's all we know."

The 2011 British Open champion previously suffered severe bruising in an accident in May 2007, where he flipped his 250cc off-road buggy near his home in Surrey.