He has won two World Golf Championships events in his career, beating Tiger Woods head-to-head in matchplay in one of them, he has won the English Open three times, as well as the European Open and the Volvo Masters and, yet, Darren Clarke was in no doubt where to rank his victory yesterday in the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai.

“This is the very top,” the relieved Ulsterman said, after a 40-foot birdie putt at the final hole at the Tomson Pudong Golf Club secured victory by one stroke over Robert-Jan Derksen, of the Netherlands.

Clarke, who lost his wife, Heather, to breast cancer in 2006, had not won on the European Tour for almost

five years and has recently been languishing in the game's backwaters. This victory took to 11 his number of titles on the tour and brought to a halt a slide that led to him falling to No236 in the world rankings.

“With all that's gone on these past few years - to spiral down the world rankings and with people writing me off - it's nice to come back and play the way I know I can,” Clarke said. “It was always going to be a difficult hurdle for me to get back into the winners' circle after Heather had passed away.”

Clarke, who dropped three shots in four holes from the 14th and was level with Derksen playing the last, admitted that his focus had started to waver when he came within sight of victory. “I started thinking about Heather and the boys [his sons, Tyrone and Conor],” he said, “and, in this game, unless you keep your concentration for the whole way, you make mistakes. And that's what I did.

“But on the last green, I gathered myself and said, ‘Hit a good putt.' Luckily, I did and it went in. To hole a putt from that length, there's also a huge amount of luck involved - a bit of destiny. Sometimes things are meant to happen, sometimes not. I guess today was my day.

“From tee to green, I was pleased with the way I played, but I had chance after chance and couldn't get away from him [Derksen] because I wasn't holing any putts.

“I have been working harder than I have ever worked on all aspects of my game, putting in nine, ten, 11-hour days and it is nice to see it pay off. This is a big mental hurdle that I have crossed.”

Clarke had rounds of 71, 69, 67 and 73 for an eight-under-par total of 280 and a first prize of €243,507 (about £190,000) that moved him from No56 in the European Tour Order of Merit to No14. He will also find that when the world rankings are updated today, his position will have improved considerably.

At 39, the game had indeed seemed to be slipping away from Clarke, a player who has been conspicuous by his absence at many of the bigger tournaments this year. He needs to get back into the top 50 to guarantee his place in the major championships and the WGC events alongside his friends at the top table - the likes of Woods, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington.

One man who would have taken more than a passing interest in Clarke's return to form is Nick Faldo, the captain of the Europe team who will take on the United States in the Ryder Cup match at Valhalla, Kentucky, in September.

Clarke has a fine pedigree in the biennial competition - few could forget the emotional scenes at the K Club in 2006, when he helped Europe to a record-equalling nine-point winning victory only six weeks after his wife had passed away - and now he will be aiming to qualify automatically for the team as the European Tour returns full time to Europe, with the Spanish Open in Seville.

“I want to be part of the team in Valhalla. The Ryder Cup's been really good to me in the past and I want to be there,” he said. “I've got some way to go yet to qualify for the team, but that's why I'm playing in Seville.”

There will be many wishing him well.

Factfile

European Tour victories 11

Last European Tour win

(before BMW Asian Open) 2003 WGC-NEC Invitational, Akron, Ohio Last victory worldwide 2005 Taiheiyo Masters, Japan

Most notable victories 2000 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, defeating Tiger Woods 4 and 3 in 36-hole final; 2003 WGC-NEC Invitational

World rankings Dec 31, 2001 No9. Dec 31, 2006 No35.

April 20, 2008 No236

Recent European Tour form

2005 Played 14. Missed cuts 1. Order of Merit 20th

2006 Played 14. Missed cuts 2. Order of Merit 43rd

2007 Played 20. Missed cuts 10. Order of Merit 138th

2008 Played 14. Missed cuts 2. Order of Merit 14th