07 February 2012 10:17 GMT

Darren Clarke was honoured for his victory at last year’s Open Championship at the prestigious 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in London last night.

The Northern Irishman received the Laureus Comeback Award for his win at Royal St George’s at the age of 42 on his 20th attempt.

Last year, Clarke, who had not made the top 10 of any Major since he finished tied for third at The 2001 Open, recorded his first European Tour title in three years at the Iberdrola Open shortly before his three-shot victory at Sandwich.

His fellow countryman Rory McIlroy, 22, was also presented with the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award after winning the US Open, his first Major Championship.

Meanwhile, the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award went to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic after a remarkable 2011 when he won three Grand Slam events — the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open — and took away the tennis world number one ranking from Rafael Nadal.

The Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award went to Kenya’s extraordinary distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot, who won both 5,000 and 10,000 metres gold medals at the World Championships in Daegu.

Champions League and Spanish League winners FC Barcelona won the Laureus Team of the Year Award.

The Laureus World Sports Awards are one of the premier honours in the international sporting calendar with all proceeds directly benefitting the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which supports 91 community sports projects in 34 countries around the world.