Clarke - now aged 42 - was one of the top golfers in the world in the late 1990s and early 200s, clocking up wins on the European Tour at events such as the Volvo Masters, English Open, WGC-Anderson Consulting Matchplay Championship and Smurfit European Open.
However, the quality of his performances dipped between 2004 and 2007 largely due to the unfortunate illness and eventual death of his wife.
Since then, he has been building up his good form, culminating in his win at the 2011 Iberdrola Open and this month's prestigious Open Championship at Royal St Georges.
Amazingly enough, it is the third time in 13 months that a player from Northern Ireland has won a major, with Graeme McDowell taking home the 2010 US Open and Rory McIlroy repeating the feat this year.
Commenting on the recent domination of Northern Irish golfers, Clarke said: "We have fantastic golf courses, we have fantastic facilities, but to have three major champions from a little small place in a short period of time, it's just incredible. You know, it's fantastic, it's brilliant for home."
And it could be that the publicity surrounding top British golfers at the moment - three of the top four in the world are from the UK - leads to growing numbers of keen golfers heading on to the fairway with a golf GPS to try and improve their own handicap.
