The 52-year-old Northern Irishman two-putted the last hole for a birdie to earn a one-shot-win over Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer in the TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton.
“I’ve had a lot of opportunities the last few years, so it’s great to finally win one,” said Clarke, a 14-time European Tour champion, including two World Golf Championships, afterwards. “I wouldn’t be working this hard if I didn’t think I could still win.”
After opening with rounds of 69 and 62 to share the lead with Swede Robert Karlsson, the 2016 Ryder Cup captain closed with a 68 for a 17-under 199 total at the The Old Course at Broken Sound.
"The last victory I had, I was drunk for a week, so this time I won’t be,” he added, laughing.
Clarke's return to winning ways was greeted with delighted by Scottish duo Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren.
"Congratulations," wrote Montgomerie, who finished just outside the top 40 in the event, in a post on Twitter to his Ryder Cup team-mate. "Fantastic play this week. Absolutely delighted for you."
Referring to his own title triumph in the Austrian Open on the European Tour in the summer, Warren said: "Got a very cool message from the big man a couple of months ago after winning for the first time in a few years, delighted to return the favour tonight."