Clarke dedicates Open victory to family - ESPN.co.uk

Darren Clarke dedicated his victory to his two sons after winning the Open Championship at Royal St George's on Sunday.

The 42-year-old from Northern Ireland clinched the Claret Jug after shooting a final round of 70, enough for a three-shot victory over the American duo of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

Clarke, who lost his wife Heather to breast cancer in 2006, dedicated his triumph to his children, Tyrone and Conor, after winning the Open Championship at his 20th attempt.

"It's for the kids," Clarke said, temporarily too emotional to speak. "They'll be very proud." When asked what celebrations could be in store, he quipped: "They could be long and … well, not arduous - but definitely enjoyable!"

When he was presented with the Claret Jug on the 18th green, he added: "It's been a long and bumpy road, I've had good things happen to me and bad things to happen me. My game has sometimes been good and sometimes been bad.

"There might be lots of nice Irish black stuff in this thing this evening. I want to thank my mum and dad and [fiance] Alison for all their love and support. As some of you might know, there's someone looking down on me too, so thank you to her."

Wildly popular both among his fellow professionals and the fans at the Sandwich course, Clarke thanked the spectators who cheered him wildly throughout all four days. "For the support I've had these last few days, I can't thank you enough," he said. "It's helped me to stand here. So to all of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Having started the day a shot clear of Johnson, Clarke birdied the second but was propelled on his way by an eagle at the par-five seventh. As his nearest challengers fell away over the closing holes, Clarke admitted it was then just a case of limiting the mistakes.

"I played okay today, I did what I had to do," he said. "Those closing holes I was trying not to make any stupid mistakes, be really careful, and as it turned out it was enough."

Clarke won the Iberdrola Open earlier in the year, and admitted that the recent experience of challenging for a professional tournament served him well as he closed in on a belated first major of his career.

"I won six weeks ago, it's not the Open Championship but the more you put yourself in winning positions the more you get used to it," he noted. "I've been unbelievably confident and comfortable in my game all week. I always believed I could win a big one, and I couldn't ask for any more than the Open Championship."

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