AKRON, Ohio -- Darren Clarke says he's working harder than ever. The proof is on the scoreboard, not on the scales.
Lumbering down the fairway, often puffing away on cigars, Clarke emerged with the lead Saturday in the NEC Invitational, setting himself up for a chance to join Tiger Woods as the only multiple winners in the World Golf Championships.
It wasn't exactly a conventional 4-under 66.
He made a birdie when his tee shot ricocheted out of the trees. He made a par by chipping in with his 3-wood. And his best hole might have been a bogey, which came only after he played down the wrong fairway.
When a wild day ended at Firestone -- a half-dozen players with a share of the lead at one point -- Clarke was at 9-under 201 and leading by one over Jonathan Kaye.
"I tend to work pretty hard," Clarke said. "People don't think that I do, looking at me. It's been frustrating to put as much work in as I have been, and not gotten any results."
He's gotten even less from the fitness routine he talked about at the Masters.
"Not quite as good as I'd hoped, really," the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland said, grinning as he patted the girth on his 230-pound frame.
He has no complaints about the golf, though.
"I hit some good shots and some bad shots, but thankfully my short game has been very sharp, and that's what made the difference," Clarke said.
Kaye, who won for the first time on the PGA Tour this year at the Buick Classic, birdied his four holes and finished strong for a 65.
Clarke's biggest victory came three years ago in the Match Play Championship, when he hammered Woods in the 36-hole final, 4 and 3.
This isn't match play, but it could shape up that way late Sunday afternoon.
And Woods is very much in the picture.
Despite three bogeys in four holes during the middle of his round, Woods regrouped to shoot a 67 and was three strokes behind. He has won the NEC Invitational the last three times it was played at Firestone.
"I'm right where I need to be," Woods said. "I need to get off to a good start, and keep it going this time."
Where that leads is anyone's guess.
Chris Riley, a co-leader with David Toms going into the weekend, had an even-par 70 and was two shots behind at 203. Riley used to play junior golf matches with Woods, and they'll be in the next-to-last group.
Davis Love III had a solid 68 and also was at 204 with Woods, while the group at 5-under 205 included U.S. Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton, former U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, Steve Flesch and Brad Faxon.
Toms made a double bogey on the 17th and shot 76, dropping him eight strokes behind.
It all depends on Clarke, who played as well as his score indicated, although it was far from dull.
He hooked his tee shot on No. 6 and was headed for the trees, where he likely would have had to chip out, assuming he had a swing. Instead, the ball bounced off a tree and shot across the fairway into the rough.
Clarke hit into about 15 feet and made birdie, causing a five-way tie for the lead.
He made his only bogey on the back nine at No. 10, and he was happy it wasn't worse. Clarke caught a branch just off the tee, and his ball landed closer to the 18th fairway than the 10th. So, he decided to play down the 18th fairway.
"If you had seen where I was, you would have done the same thing," he said. "I had no other option. I didn't have a back swing to even get it back on the 10th fairway."
From the wrong fairway, he hit wedge into a bunker, blasted out to 30 feet and holed the putt for bogey.
The thrills didn't end there. After two birdies gave him the outright lead, he found a bunker off the tee on the 667-yard 16th, eventually had to lay up with a 4-iron and then missed the green. Clarke saved par by chipping in with a 3-wood.
Woods started strong with birdies on three of his first five holes, but then started missing fairways and making bogeys.
"I hit two quick snipes and a block and it cost me three bogeys," Woods said.
Still, he was among a dozen players within five shots of the lead.
It all sets up for what should be a wild conclusion at Firestone, a course that rarely plays this firm and fast the final week of August.
Anyone driving the ball well can expect short irons into the green for a good look at birdie. Otherwise, "you hit a couple of bad shots here and there, you're really struggling to make par," Woods said.
Firestone demands nothing but the best golf.
"We've got a lot of the world's best golfers here, and that's a fair reflection on the golf course," Clarke said. Divots: Padraig Harrington has played the last two weeks with his wife home in Ireland, already past due to deliver their first child. The reports show no progress, although Harrington is getting antsy. The due date was Monday. "The closer it gets to getting home, the worst I'm getting," he said. "This is late now, so it could be any moment." With that, he headed for the clubhouse to call home. ... Kenny Perry's streak of eight consecutive finishes in the top 10 is about to end. Despite a 68, he was at 6 over going into the final round.
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