Published Tuesday, 19 July 2011
The 42-year-old presented his coveted championship medal to the club, where it'll go on display next to Fred Daly's from the 1947 Open at Royal Liverpool.
"I have been fortunate enough to have played around the world but, living in Portrush, this is the best course in the world and I am privileged to give them the medal so people can come into the club and see it," Clarke said.
"It maybe would have ended up in a drawer at home, so I am glad people can come here and see it."
Club captain Philip Tweedie said it was a mark of Clarke as a man, that he could give away the prized possession.
"To win something you wanted all your life and then to turn round and give this medal to this club, I think it is just a fantastic gesture and on behalf of Royal Portrush I thank you," he said.
And all he's looking for in return is a parking space.
"I need to be very nice to these very nice gentlemen to see if I can get a parking space as well," he joked, on hearing his golfing buddy Graeme McDowell has got a space at nearby Rathmore.
Clarke, who practised on the local course before heading to Kent, has also continued to back plans to revisit the possibility of Royal Portrush hosting the Open, despite logistical questions.
"With us doing so well, it would be great to see us get a major championship here," he said.
Governing body, the Royal and Ancient, has said the infrastructure, commercial opportunities and potential security risks would need to be examined before a decision could be taken.
The Open has only once been held outside England and Scotland - being hosted by Royal Portrush back in 1951.
I like a pint and I have a smoke and I do all the things that I shouldn't do compared to all the other athletes out there.
Darren Clarke
Looking ahead to the Ryder Cup and faced with the cheeky suggestion that the next one should pit the US against just Northern Ireland, instead of all of Europe, Clarke simply laughed: "Depends on how many points head start we would give them."
He added: "For our little small country to do what we have done is just incredible."
His victory makes Clarke the first Northern Ireland golfer to win a major in the heady space of ... just four weeks, following GMac and Rory McIlroy's back-to-back US Open wins.
Now he's left to reassess his goals after fulfilling a lifetime ambition.
"My goal and burning desire throughout all my career was to win this trophy and I have managed to do that now, so I need to sit down at some stage later this week and figure out a few more goals.
"If I can win more majors ... fantastic - but if I don't, my name will always be on this one."
Hugely popular with fans and fellow professionals alike, Clarke summed up what he put that down to and said: "I'm just a little bit different, I am a little bit older, allegedly wiser, and I tend to try and have as much fun as I can - I think people identify with that.
"I'm not your typical get up at 6am in the morning and go to the gym and do this and do that. Sometimes I am in a good mood, sometimes I am in a bad mood - like everybody."