Golf-British Open winner Darren Clarke

July 17 (Reuters) - Factbox on Darren Clarke, who won his first major title at the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich on Sunday:

* Born August 14, 1968 in Dungannon, Northern Ireland.

* Turned professional in 1990, securing his first win in 1993 at the Alfred Dunhill Open and then finishing tied-second at the 1997 British Open.

* Racked up eight victories from 1998-2003, including two WGC events and the English Open three times. Clarke has won 14 times in total.

* Failed to record another victory until 2008 while his wife Heather battled cancer; she died in 2006.

* Three weeks later, he was picked as a wild card for the 2006 Ryder Cup and won all three of his matches, helping Europe to a record 18.5-9.5 victory over the United States.

* Won again in 2008 but had to wait until 2011 for another first-place finish when he triumphed at the Iberdrola Open in May.

* Competed in five consecutive Ryder Cups from 1997-2006, finishing on the winning side four times, and was chosen as one of the 2010 vice-captains as Europe sealed a dramatic Monday win.

* Clarke’s first major victory, where he beat four-times major champion Phil Mickelson and fellow AmericanDustin Johnson by three strokes, makes him the oldest winner of the year’s third major since Roberto di Vicenzo in 1967.

* Clarke is also the oldest winner of a major championship since American Ben Crenshaw at the 1995 U.S. Masters.