Darren Clarke must have felt awful lonely Sunday afternoon.

The Northern Ireland golfer was one of only two foreign-born players to crack the top 10 in the 1998 Masters Tournament, reversing a trend of European domination over the last decade.

Europe's emergence as a breeding ground for top golfers has hardly been a secret. With two-time Masters champion Seve Ballesteros becoming one of the world's best players in the early 1980s, the Masters Tournament became their private domain.

Hardly a coincidence, Europe began to get the best of the U.S. squad in the Ryder Cup beginning in 1985. They retained the Cup until 1991, relinquishing it on Bernhard Langer's short miss at Kiawah Island, S.C., that year, but regained it with victories in 1995 and 1997.

Clarke, a journeyman pro playing in his first Masters, saved his best golf for the weekend. After barely making the cut with rounds of 76 and 73, he jumped back into contention with a 67 on Saturday and improved his position with a closing 69. He finished tied for eighth.

Colin Montgomerie, who has never won in the United States, was also tied for eighth. The Scot posted rounds of 71, 75, 69 and 70.

Statistically, foreigners have had better success in Augusta than they have in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship. Only in the British Open do they have a better record over the last decade.

At the U.S. Open, only South African Ernie Els has managed to crack through in the last decade, winning twice. At the PGA, only four of the last 10 winners have been foreign-born, with Zimbabwe's Nick Price taking that title twice.

Surprisingly, Americans John Daly, Tom Lehman and Justin Leonard have won the British Open the last three years. But prior to that, foreigners won six out of seven.

Outside of Clarke, the only other Europeans to crack the top 24 were Sweden's Per-Ulrik Johansson, Els and former winners Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam.

Johannson and Olazabal wound up at 2-under 286 for the tournament, while Els and Woosnam were in a group at 1-under 287.

Some prominent foreign-born players did not make the 36-hole cut, which fell at 6-over-par. Chief among those was three-time Masters winner Nick Faldo, who missed a short putt on the 18th hole Friday to earn a trip home. Other missing the cut were Greg Norman, Jumbo Ozaki, Frank Nobilo and Ballesteros.