Clarke had the lead after 54 holes and held off the challenge of Englishman Nick Faldo and Vijay Singh, who shot a final round 64. Clarke prevailed by two strokes. A month later Clarke nearly won his second title at the European Tour's season ending Volvo Masters, however he was pipped to the title by Colin Montgomerie who finished one stroke clear. Overall for the season Clarke made 24 out of 30 cuts and finished in the top-10 on seven occasions. The follow up year in 1994 was another solid season for Clarke on the tour, making 17 of 21 cuts and finishing 37th on the Order of Merit list. Clarke also played in his first U.S. Open although he missed the cut and had his highest finish, at the time, in The Open Championship with a tie for 38th place. In 1995, Clarke had better success, with seven top-10s in 27 events, most notably at the Portuguese Open where he finished second after losing a sudden death playoff to Adam Hunter on the first extra hole, despite having the joint 54 hole lead. Clarke ended the year 14th on the Order of Merit. In 1996, Clarke won his second European Tour title at the Linde German Masters by one stroke, shooting a final round 63 to finish 24 under par, one stroke ahead of Englishman Mike Davis. Clarke also recorded his best finish in a major, at that current time, with a tie for 11th place at The Open Championship in 1996. He also equalled his best finish on the Order of Merit, placing in 8th for the season. In May 1997, Clarke finished second at the Volvo PGA Championship, two strokes behind Ian Woosnam. In July 1997, Clarke was in position to win his first major championship at the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon. Clarke held the lead with American Jim Furyk after the first round and then pulled two strokes clear of the field after a 66 in the second round, but a third round 71 put him two strokes behind leader Jesper Parnevik going into the final day. However the winner was not to come from the final pairing, as Justin Leonard came storming through the pack with a 65 to beat both Clarke and Parnevik by three strokes. Clarke ended the season 4th on the Order of Merit. In 1998, Clarke made his first appearances at two of the biggest golf events worldwide. He missed the cut on his debut at The Players Championship, but his first visit to Augusta National Golf Club was much more successful, shooting 67-69 on the weekend to finish in a tie for 8th at the Masters Tournament.