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 – over €960,000 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.