Woods drinks deeply at the 19th hole

Darren Clarke's hopes of reaching a second Accenture World Matchplay final lasted until only lunchtime at La Costa yesterday. Once more Europe's lone representative in the quarter-finals of the 64-man event, Clarke could go no further after losing to Australia's Peter Lonard by one-hole.

But the man Clarke beat three years ago, Tiger Woods, did work his way back today's 36-hole final, where his opponent in the battle for the $1,050,000 first prize will be his fellow Ryder Cup player, David Toms. It will be an intriguing final, as the world No 1 is in imperious form while Toms seems not to know how to give up.

Woods has appeared a man on a mission to claim the only World Championship event he has not won. He limited his morning exercise to 14 holes as he beat Scot Hoch 5 and 4. The 27-year-old was seven under par without even needing to try his eight-footer at the 14th, where Hoch conceded after driving poorly and not making the hole in four. "He had not missed one like that all day," Hoch said.

Tiger's run started with a four-footer at the third but it was from the seventh that he went in to overdrive. He holed 10-footers for birdies there, at the next and at the 10th, where he needed it for a half. He then eagled the 11th from 15 feet and birdied the 12th from 25 feet. "All you can do is say, 'nice shot', 'nice shot', 'nice shot'," Hoch said.

Woods opponent in the afternoon was Adam Scott, the 22-year-old from Adelaide whose swing is modelled on Tiger's and who is coached by Butch Harmon, the man who guided Woods to eight major titles. It proved to be Tiger's hardest encounter and after Scott birdied the third and the seventh he was two-up.

Tiger, though, responded by birdieing the eighth and the ninth. He only went ahead, however, when Scott three-putted at the 12th, his short putting being the only part of his game that was not on a par with that of the world No 1.

Scott responded at the 14th by holing from almost 40 feet, however, which saved Woods from trying to hole a 20-footer to save what would have been only his second bogey of the week. Woods then birdied the next and hit his tee-shot at the short 16th to 15 inches. Scott, bravely, holed his 12-footer for a half in twos.

The Aussie then got up and down from a greenside bunker at the last to send the match to the 19th, where both were left with difficult two-putts. Tiger made his return effort, Scott, from four feet, did not. That summed up the difference between the two.

"Adam played beautifully and he didn't give me many chances to get back in to the match," Woods said. "I had to make birdies to win holes."

Toms won the US PGA Championship two years ago and enhanced his reputation further by finishing as the top American points scorer in last September's Ryder Cup at The Belfry.

He staged a gritty fightback against Sergio Garcia for one of the few US singles wins and the same dogged perseverance has been in evidence this week from the man fromLouisiana. He chipped in with his three-wood at the 18th to win his second-round match, beat Alex Cejka from one-down with two to play after visiting hospital the previous night with food poisoning and, still weak, beat Jerry Kelly 4 and 3 and then Lonard at the last in the semi-final.

Lonard looked like he was going to recover another three-hole deficit when he levelled at the 16th but then Toms birdied the 18th to go through.

At three-up after eight holes against Lonard, Clarke looked set to reach the semi-finals and even possibly a repeat of that 2000 final here. At the par-three, the fifth, Clarke hit his tee shot over the flag to four feet and then holed from 40 feet at the next to go two-up. He was briefly three-up at the eighth after Lonard bogeyed but, in an attempt to increase that advantage, Clarke made an error which altered the course of the match.

"I got ahead of myself," Clarke said. "I was looking at going four-up and made the mistake of trying to force it." The Irishman missed the green with an eight-iron and failed to get up and down, while Lonard played out of a bunker to a foot. The Aussie then birdied the 10th, before Clarke drove into a ditch at the 14th, allowing Lonard to level the match.

The short 16th proved decisive. Clarke missed the green short and right and chipped six feet past. The saving putt ran over the edge of the cup and he was now one-down. An attempt to birdie the 17th just missed and after driving into the rough at the last he was unable to put any pressure on the Australian.

"It's been a good week but obviously it's disappointing to lose from that position. I gave Pete a few chances and he made the most of them so I can't complain," Clarke said.