Darren Clarke has missed the cut in his last two events

The Ryder Cup star has struggled so far in 2007 and has missed the cut in his last two tournaments.

"I've been working hard with Leadbetter and I'm an awful lot better than I was," Clarke told the Irish Times.

"You build up confidence through playing tournaments and obviously I haven't been doing that."

Since finishing joint-22nd at Augusta last year, Clarke has had to deal with the trauma of the death of his wife Heather and has slipped to 63rd in the world rankings.

The Northern Irishman earns a spot in the season's first major because he was in the world's top 50 at the end of 2006 and he is aiming to move back up the rankings after his recent lacklustre form.

In an effort to boost his chances this year, Clarke played two rounds at Augusta last month while he goes into the event after spending last week on holiday in the Caribbean with his sons Tyrone and Conor.

"I spent a lot of time on the beach but also hit balls and practised and played every day when I was there. It was good."

Clarke will tee up alongside 1979 winner Fuzzy Zoeller and Sweden's Johan Edfors in his first two rounds at Augusta.

The Northern Ireland player tees off at 1819 BST on Thursday and 1501 on Friday.