Clarke victorious by 4 shots

Darren Clarke scored his second win in the World Golf Championship series.
AKRON (AP) -- Darren Clarke is good enough to win two World Golf Championships, both times beating back a challenge from Tiger Woods with ease.
Then again, he never has won in major tournaments, and only contended in a couple of them. Despite 14 victories worldwide, some question whether he has squeezed the most out of his talent.
"He's either playing great and winning tournaments or missing cuts," Woods said. "When he gets on a roll ... you saw it out there."
No one saw Clarke for very long.
A one-stroke lead Sunday in the NEC Invitational turned into four shots when Clarke rolled in a 15-foot eagle putt on the second hole. And when Woods tried to apply pressure with back-to-back birdies, Clarke responded with three birdies in five holes.
The result was a four-shot victory for Clarke, allowing the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland to join Woods as the only multiple winners of the WGC series.
Previous win
Clarke also beat the world's No. 1 player, 4 and 3, in the 2000 Match Play Championship.
"I don't know which was more tougher," Clarke said after closing with a 3-under 67 to finish four shots ahead of Jonathan Kaye.
"Match Play was head-to-head against the best players in the world, so that's never going to be an easy game. That day, I played as well as I could and Tiger didn't. Today, I was competing against more guys, as well as Tiger."
Not really.
After dispatching of Woods, his only serious challenger, Clarke was only competing against himself.
He finished at 12-under 268 and earned $1.05 million for his first victory of the year, moving him into second place behind Ernie Els in the European tour money list.
He also became the first European player to win on the PGA Tour this year.
Love is third
"Any time he gets near the lead, he plays very well," said Davis Love III, who closed with a 69 and finished third. "When he's on his game, he's one of the best players out there."
Only three other players scored better than Clarke's 67, and they all finished before he could digest his lunch.
"Darren just played perfect," said Kaye, who started the final round one stroke behind and was four back after two holes. He never got any closer.
Woods, a winner the last three times at Firestone, bogeyed three of his last seven holes and closed with a 70, six strokes behind.
He tied for fourth at 6-under 274, along with Chris Riley (71). Woods has never finished worse than fifth at Firestone, and he was the only player to give Clarke a serious fight.
Woods stuffed his tee shot into 2 feet on No. 7, skipped a wedge into 4 feet on No. 8 and suddenly was only two strokes behind.
Clarke was fearless as ever.
Birdies
He birdied three of five holes -- starting with an 8-footer at No. 9 and finishing the stretch from 55 feet on the 13th -- to restore his big cushion and allow himself a comfortable journey along the back nine.
Woods' chances ended with a tee shot into the bunker on No. 12, leading to a bogey, and another bogey from the bunker on No. 13.
"I needed to make two birdies early on the back nine and get myself up there, but it went the other way," Woods said.