KEY POINTS:
THOUSAND OAKS, California - Tiger Woods shrugged off three bogeys and an early challenge by Jim Furyk to win the Target World Challenge golf tournament by seven shots today for his eighth victory of the year.
The world No 1, six ahead of the pack overnight, fired a
four-under-par 68 at Sherwood Country Club to claim his fourth title in the elite 16-man tournament he hosts.
Woods stretched his lead to seven strokes over the first two holes before it was trimmed to just two by playing partner Furyk over a cut-and-thrust outward nine.
Furyk's victory hopes were extinguished by a double-bogey at the par-three 15th, where he found water off the tee for the second day in a row, and Woods eagled the par-five 16th on his way to a winning total of 22-under 266.
World No 3 Furyk, who had piled the pressure on Woods with five birdies in the first eight holes, had to settle for a closing 71 and third place at 13 under, two behind Masters champion Zach Johnson (68)
Woods, overwhelming favourite going into the final round, appeared to have the title firmly in his grasp after making a confident start in glorious winter sunshine.
A pinpoint approach to two metres set up a birdie at the par-four first before he benefited from a Furyk bogey at the par-five second.
Furyk had also birdied the opening hole after hitting a superb recovery from the left rough to just over half a metre but faltered after finding water in front of the second green with his second shot.
Furyk cut the deficit to six when he rolled in from three metres to birdie the fourth and both players then birdied the uphill par-five fifth.
Woods made his first error with a three-putt bogey at the seventh, missing his second putt from a metre, while Furyk closed in with consecutive birdie putts from three metres at the seventh and eighth.
Woods again stumbled at the par-four ninth, finding a bunker with his approach and missing a five-metre par putt to give Furyk unexpected hope going into the back nine.
However, Furyk's momentum was severely jolted at the 10th where he three-putted from two metres to turn a likely birdie into an ugly bogey.
Woods, who hit his approach there to 1five metres, calmly holed the putt to regain a four-shot cushion.
Furyk unravelled over the closing holes, finishing bogey, double-bogey, par, birdie, bogey.
Woods rubbed salt into his compatriot's wounds by draining a 25-eagle putt at the 16th before setting up his fifth birdie of the round with an approach to three metres at the par-three 17th.
- REUTERS