Clarke misses $1.3m target

Luke Donald, the world's number 13, sneaked in under the radar to capture the $1.3 million top prize in the Target World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oak, California, yesterday. The Englishman shot a final round 64 for 16-under-par 272, finishing two shots clear of long-time leader Darren Clarke.

"I thought if I could shoot eight-under or nine-under, I might have a chance and it worked out well," said Donald, who had a purple patch mid-round when recording five birdies in seven holes. "This is the kind of course where you can make a string of birdies. I just played solidly and didn't get into trouble."

For Clarke, it was a case of the one that got away. Carrying a one stroke lead over Michael Campbell and Padraig Harrington at the 54-holes stage, the Tyrone man was still in the driving seat coming into the back nine despite Donald's on-course stealth. However, having dominated the holes in his previous rounds, Clarke could only go par-par-bogey on the three par fives on the back nine.

Clarke had come out of the blocks fast, birdieing his first two holes and strengthening his starting hand. After bogeying the fourth, he bounced back with a birdie on the fifth and it seemed as if it would still be his day when he holed a 40-footer for a par save on the 12th.

For much of the front nine, it looked as if the tournament was developing into an Irish benefit, with Harrington hitting a sensational nine-iron approach from 158 yards to just two inches on the seventh to move to 16-under-par and be co-leader with Clarke. It was to be a false dawn.

Prior to his round, Harrington lamented the fact that he wasn't actually swinging the club as well as he would like. Those fears were to be confirmed, with two ugly pull-hooks off the tee on the eighth and 12th, both par threes, which effectively ended his challenge.

On the eighth, the Dubliner was forced to take a penalty drop after pulling his tee shot into a bush and suffered a double-bogey while on the 12th he again pulled his shot into thick rough and failed to save par.

Still, after almost chipping in for eagle on the 16th, where his ball finished on the lip but refused to drop, Harrington had a 10 foot birdie chance on the 17th after a nine-iron tee-shot, but the ball slipped by the hole which ended any lingering hopes of catching Donald. His fate was compounded when his approach from rough to the last plunged into the water for a finishing double-bogey six, for a 73 leaving him tied third with on 276, four behind the winner.

Clarke, though, was still on target to least have a play-off until he pulled his second shot to the par five 16th into thick rough and left his recovering pitch in the rough. He failed to get up and down, and for the first time in the final round trailed Donald.