Woods wins Match Play title

Woods has won 12 straight matches in WCG events

Tiger Woods stepped up a gear in the second round to beat Davis Love III in the 36-hole WGC Match Play final at La Costa, California.

The world number one claimed his ninth win in 16 World Golf Championship events with a 3&2 victory over Love.

Woods trailed by one hole after the opening round but levelled on the second of the afternoon and remained clear of his fellow America.

Darren Clarke beat Stephen Leaney by one hole in the third-place play-off.

Love dominated the morning round of the final and led by two going down the 18th, before Woods hit back with what proved to be a crucial birdie.

He kept the momentum going after the 40-minute break when Love failed to get up and down for par on the second.

He started hitting fairways and making putts and it's a bad combination Davis Love III

The decisive move came when Woods birdied the seventh and eighth, before Love made a bogey five on the ninth.

On the back nine, Woods was able to maintain his three-hole lead and take his earnings from World Golf Championship events to $10m.

"It looked like Davis was going to get the momentum but matchplay is about turning the tide," said Woods.

"I was in quite a few places where I was in trouble this morning. I wasn't striking the ball that well off the tees but I made a lot of putts.

"In matchplay it's eyeball to eyeball right from the first tee and it's great to play in that atmosphere.

"If you can make putts you can flat-out play matchplay."

Love admitted: "The par fives killed me. He started hitting fairways and making putts and it's a bad combination."

But the world number five also said he was thrown off his stride by a heckler, particularly on the 20th hole.

"It definitely affected me because he did it when I was preparing to hit shots," said Love.

"He was not here to watch golf and once we narrowed it down where he was we got rid of him.

We are professionals, we can get the ball airborne Tiger Woods

"I was not going to play any more until somebody got kicked out because he had already cost me a hole.

"The second hole this afternoon I hit an awful shot because he rattled me and I was not going to put up with it.

"You don't have to like me or pull for me, just respect me to let me play the game.

"The fans should not have an outcome on the game and for some reason they are starting to think they can."

Woods was sympathetic and said: "It is unfortunate that we are living in a time where it has changed quite a bit. I am sure 10, 15 or 20 years ago it was never like that.

"Golf fans were not raucous and did not need to yell out just because the ball gets airborne. We are professionals, we can get the ball airborne.

"It was unfortunate because Davis was playing well. You can block it out but after a while you are going to snap and he had every right to do that."

Clarke was two down with six to play in the third-place match but birdied the 13th and 16th on his way to overcoming Australian Leaney.

Clarke climbed to the top of the European Order of Merit but remained outside the top 10 in the new world rankings published on Monday.

The Northern Irishman is 13th, with Ireland's Padraig Harrington the top-ranked European at 12th.