Darren Clarke - winner in Akron (Getty Images).
By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent, Akron
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An inspired Darren Clarke got the better of Tiger Woods again in yet another
million-dollar duel on Sunday - and this time on one of the world number one's
favourite courses.
The Northern Irishman, the only European to lift a World Golf Championship
title, achieved his second victory in the series by an impressive four-stroke
margin at the NEC Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Clarke, who beat the world number one in the final of the 2000 Andersen
Consulting World Match Play in California, clutched another seven-figure cheque
- and a trophy, of course - after a brilliant closing round of 67.
With a 12-under-par total of 268 the 34-year-old, ending a 14-month barren
spell, won by four strokes from American Jonathan Kaye, Woods falling back on
the back nine into a tie for fourth with Chris Riley. Davis Love was third.
"It has always been one of my goals to win a stroke play event in America,"
said a jubilant Clarke.
Woods had won on his previous three visits to Firestone and after he closed
from five behind to only two back on the outward half a fourth success could not
be ruled out.
But Clarke refused to be rattled. Far from it - he looked serenely confident
in re-establishing his grip and then had the unexpected bonus of a 55-foot
birdie putt on the 13th.
The massive first prize of 1,050,000 US dollars - over £650,000 and the
biggest of his career - was firmly in his sights by then, especially with Woods,
in the group ahead, having bogeyed the 12th and 13th.
Failing to get up and down from sand on the short 15th increased the tension
and he also bogeyed the dangerous 667-yard 16th by three-putting. But it was not
as bad as it could have been because Kaye also bogeyed.
A solid par on the 17th meant he took a four-stroke cushion to the last and
once his drive was away he was home and dry.
Clarke had made a spectacular start, rolling in a slippery 14-foot eagle putt
on the long second and making an eight-foot chance at the difficult fourth. He
chunked a chip and bogeyed the next as Woods made his charge, but it did not
unsettle him and it was hard to believe he had not won for 14 months.
Padraig Harrington's thoughts, meanwhile, were with his wife Caroline and
their baby rather than Ryder Cup team-mate Clarke as he left the course.
During a level-par closing round of 70, making him four over overall,
Harrington received word that his wife had gone into hospital back home in
Dublin to await the birth of their first child.
The baby had been due last Monday, but when doctors said it looked like being
a week late Harrington made the decision not to fly back after the United States
PGA championship, but to continue on from Rochester, New York, to Akron, Ohio.
All week long he was waiting for any developments and he admitted he thought
about withdrawing after an opening 73, but thought that would be showing a lack
of respect to the tournament sponsors.
Coming off the last green Harrington showed a message on his mobile phone from
Caroline saying: "You concentrate on your job and I will do mine."
He then said: "When I was talking to her earlier today before I went out
things were happening. I text her out on the course on the 10th and didn't get a
reply immediately.
"I thought she must have gone in. Then I got that reply when I was on about
the 13th.
"I hope she has the baby in the next 10 minutes for her sake. Obviously, I
will just get the good news as soon as possible.
"The last couple of days have been tough, I have got to say. I have wanted to
go home. We were hoping it would go a couple of days more and that would make
everything all right, but it looks like it's not to be.
"But we can't have everything. As long as I have a healthy baby and a healthy
wife at the end of it all I will be a very happy man.
"My flight from here to JFK (in New York) is 5pm, I will get home about seven
in the morning."
Harrington was paired with Paul McGinley, who managed only a 75 to finish nine
over.
Paul Casey improved to joint eighth place before having four bogeys in a row
from the 13th and had to settle for a level-par 70 and one under aggregate. He
finished joint 17th.
Colin Montgomerie's 73 left him one over, Ian Poulter (75) and Justin Rose
(69) were three over, Lee Westwood shot 73 for six over and Phil Golding (72)
finished 10 over, Phillip Price (74) 12 over and Nick Faldo (75) 15 over.
Final scores and totals (USA unless stated, par 70):
268 Darren Clarke 65 70 66 67
272 Jonathan Kaye 68 69 65 70
273 Davis Love 66 70 68 69)
274 Chris Riley 66 67 70 71, Tiger Woods 65 72 67 70
275 Vijay Singh (Fij) 69 65 72 69, Robert Allenby (Aus) 69 69 68 69, Jim Furyk
69 69 68 69
276 Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 70 68 70 68, Brad Faxon 68 67 70 71
277 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 71 73 65 68, Dan Forsman 69 68 70 70, Steve Flesch
71 67 67 72
278 Toshimitsu Izawa (Jpn) 70 71 68 69, Peter Jacobsen 73 64 71 70, Fred Funk
72 62 72 72
279 Jay Haas 72 69 73 65, Paul Casey (Gbr) 72 66 71 70, Ernie Els (Rsa) 67 70
71 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 67 69 69 74
280 Charles Howell 72 68 74 66, Fred Couples 67 71 71 71
281 Peter Lonard (Aus) 70 73 72 66, Justin Leonard 75 69 69 68, Mike Weir
(Can) 71 72 69 69, Phil Mickelson 68 73 70 70, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 70 71 70 70,
Shaun Micheel 71 69 70 71, Colin Montgomerie (Gbr) 68 70 70 73
282 Ben Curtis 64 76 72 70, Len Mattiace 72 69 69 72, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 64
76 69 73
283 Justin Rose (Gbr) 72 73 69 69, Chris DiMarco 71 68 73 71, Eduardo Romero
(Arg) 70 74 68 71, David Toms 66 67 76 74, Ian Poulter (Gbr) 73 68 67 75, Hal
Sutton 68 69 68 78
284 Jeff Sluman 67 74 75 68, Padraig Harrington (Ire) 73 71 70 70, Paul
Azinger 72 69 67 76
285 Ben Crane 71 75 68 71, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 73 70 70 72, Nick Price
(Zim) 73 67 71 74, Alex Cejka (Ger) 72 68 71 74
286 Steve Allan (Aus) 74 68 76 68, Lee Westwood (Gbr) 70 70 73 73, Stuart
Appleby (Aus) 70 75 68 73, Bob Estes 68 74 70 74, Scott Verplank 66 73 70 77
287 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 73 72 70 72, Scott Hoch 69 72 72 74
288 Kenny Perry 72 76 68 72, Chad Campbell 73 71 72 72, Jerry Kelly 68 71 76
73, KJ Choi 73 71 71 73, Mark Calcavecchia 70 68 73 77
289 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 67 76 74 72, Paul McGinley (Ire) 70 71 73 75, Kaname
Yokoo (Jpn) 73 71 70 75
290 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 72 72 75 71, Phil Golding (Gbr) 76 69 73 72, Stewart
Cink 70 71 74 75
291 Tim Clark (Rsa) 73 69 73 76, Craig Parry (Aus) 69 75 71 76, Adam Scott
(Aus) 72 70 69 80
292 Pierre Fulke (Swe) 72 72 75 73, Phillip Price (Gbr) 68 75 75 74, John
Rollins 75 72 71 74, Rich Beem 69 69 78 76
293 Steen Tinning (Den) 71 74 76 72, Jonathan Byrd 71 77 73 72, Kevin Na 71 80
69 73, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 69 72 75 77, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 75 69 72 77,
Michael Campbell (Nzl) 74 71 70 78
294 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 72 77 73, Rocco Mediate 78 73 69 74, Ignacio
Garrido (Spa) 74 74 72 74, Bob Burns 74 70 75 75, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 72 69 75 78
295 Jarrod Moseley (Aus) 76 74 72 73, Nick Faldo (Gbr) 74 67 79 75
296 Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 75 71 77 73
308 Gene Sauers 73 76 77 82
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