(CNN) -- It was wet, cold and windy, and he hadn't been in contention to win golf's oldest tournament for 10 years, but Darren Clarke finally made the breakthrough at the British Open on Sunday. Two decades after he first entered the season's third major event, the 42-year-old made history as he triumphed by three shots from Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson in its 140th staging at Royal St. George's in England. Clarke, whose previous best finish was runner-up in 1997, lifted the coveted Claret Jug at his 21st attempt -- breaking the record of the tournament's previous longest wait, the 15-try streak that Zimbabwean Nick Price snapped in 1994.

Johnson, seeking his first major title, drove out of bounds at the 14th and his double-bogey there handed

OPTIONS:
- Americans a four-shot buffer.
- British Open a four-shot buffer.
- CNN a four-shot buffer.
- Claret Jug a four-shot buffer.
- Clarke a four-shot buffer.
- Darren Clarke a four-shot buffer.
- Dustin Johnson a four-shot buffer.
- England a four-shot buffer.
- Nick Price a four-shot buffer.
- Northern Ireland a four-shot buffer.
- Phil Mickelson a four-shot buffer.
- Royal St. George's a four-shot buffer.
- Zimbabwean a four-shot buffer.


Clarke a four-shot buffer.