ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY RELATED STORIES Accenture Match Play Preview Round 1: Top seeds go through at wet La Costa Round 2: Top seeds fall on Friday Round 3: Toms to meet DiMarco in final Round 4: David Toms defeats Chris DiMarco 6&5 Final Scores & Prize Money ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Lam Masters the art of winning Thongchai on a double hat-trick Thongchai does Indochina double Tour card battle in Cambodia Thongchai gets the job done Report predicts 30% China golf growth GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Geoff Ogilvy leads in Hawaii Pair lead with opening 63s Olazabal warns again complacency Els makes happy Hawaiian landing Amateur: 'Big as a bucket' - true!

David Toms defeats Chris DiMarco 6&5

David Toms cruised to the biggest victory in WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship final history by beating Chris DiMarco 6 & 5 on Sunday.

The win, worth $1.3 million, placed American Toms in the same class as Tiger Woods, who arrived at the La Costa Resort and Spa seeking an unprecedented third consecutive title before bowing out in the second round to Australian Nick O'Hern.

In a dominating display never before seen at these championships, Toms needed just 31 of the scheduled 36 holes to seal his victory.

The previous largest winning margin in a final was Briton Darren Clarke's 4 & 3 win over Woods in 2000.

"I've won a few tournaments along the way but I never felt that type of ease on a golf course," said Toms, who had just four bogeys over 116 holes of play. "I felt really great.

"I don't know how to explain it. I felt at peace all week.

"This is a big deal. It's the best players on a great golf course.

"I can take a lot away from this and gain from it."

Runner-up to former world number one Woods in 2003, Toms seized control during a brilliant morning round enjoying a blistering back nine to go six-up on his Ryder Cup team mate.

Just as he did in Saturday's semi-final against Britain's Ian Poulter, Toms turned up the heat after the turn, scorching the final nine holes to break open what had been a tight contest.

All square after nine, Toms shifted into top gear with birdies on five of the next six holes to surge in front five-up.

Toms then watched as DiMarco collapsed under the relentless pressure and carded bogeys on 16 and 17 to add two more holes to his friend's advantage.

With the title slipping away, DiMarco stopped his fall with a birdie on 18 to trim Toms's lead by one and grab a small amount of momentum to take into the afternoon.

"We were all square at the turn and then he just went on a birdie barrage," DiMarco said. "You've got to take your hat off to him, I think he was 20-under the last two days.

"That's the worst beating I've ever taken for sure.

"The way he (Toms) played against me and the way he played against Ian (Poulter), I think those are two of the best back-to-back rounds you can see."

When the two men returned following a short lunch break, little had changed.

Through the opening five holes DiMarco kept pace with Toms but was unable to eat into his lead.

With holes dwindling and pressure again mounting, DiMarco faltered as Toms birdied six and seven to increase his advantage to eight-up.

A bogey by DiMarco on eight and the tournament appeared over.

One of the Tour's grittiest competitions, DiMarco refused to concede defeat following up a Toms bogey on the ninth with three consecutive birdies to move to six-down.

However, DiMarco's comeback bid came to an end on the par-four 13th when Toms drained a nervy 10-foot putt to seal the win.

"I thought I was going to go in early but like I said yesterday, he (Chris) would hang in there and fight it out no matter what the outcome," Toms said.

"I just had a calm about me all week.

"It was probably the best week of driving the ball I ever had and that was probably key to winning.

"But it was tough to play with that big of a lead."

In the consolation match played over one round, South Africa's Retief Goosen defeated Poulter on the 20th hole to secure third place.

February 27, 2005