After winning the Buick Invitational for the sixth time, Woods said he is playing better than ever, and not only that, he is still improving. There may be no more unsettling words to fill the ears of his rivals.

'I'm hitting shots that I never hit before, even in 2000,' he said. 'I'm actually hitting the ball better now than I did during that stretch.'

Of course, his 2000 was one of the greatest years in golf. He won nine times, including the US Open by 15 shots, the British Open by eight and the PGA Championship in a play-off.

So it was actually a statement day for Woods in the fourth round on the renowned and rugged South Course, where the US Open will be staged in June and is certain to be a tournament much more difficult than the one Woods closed out on Sunday.

His lead was so large that he did not need to do much except to close it out, which he did with a routine one-under 71 and 19-under total of 269.

All the numbers once again lined up in his favour. He still won by eight shots to make it four straight victories at the Buick. He earned US$936,000 (S$1.33 million) and tied Arnold Palmer for fourth place on the PGA Tour's career victory list at 62.

Palmer spent the day playing golf at his club at Bay Hill in Orlando, and issued a statement about Woods' feat.

'I'm sure there are many, many more coming in the future,' he said. 'There isn't any question about that.'

Palmer was 43 when he reached 62 victories; Woods turned 32 a month ago.

The only question on Sunday was who would finish second. Japan's Ryuji Imada answered it when he shot a 67 and came closest to Woods.

Rory Sabbatini (67) and Stewart Cink (73) tied for third at nine-under 279.

Imada said finishing second is not all that fun, but managed to smile about doing just that.

'This is the Tiger Woods Invitational, isn't it?' he said.

Phil Mickelson's season debut ended with a 71 and a tie for sixth with Joe Durant.

There could be a debate over just when the tournament really ended, whether it was Saturday afternoon, when Woods led by eight shots, or maybe after the first hole on Sunday, when his lead had grown to 10.

But the precise door-slamming moment was probably the huge, curling, 60-foot birdie putt struck by Woods that travelled nearly the length of the 11th green, took a left turn, rolled another 15 feet and then disappeared.

The gallery cheered, and he responded with a shout and a fist pump.

Three straight bogeys, from the 14th through the 16th, ate into his lead, but all that did was make it look a little closer than it actually was.

Eighteen under? On a 7,569-yard beefcake that is hosting the US Open in five months?

'It's kind of a scary score,' Fred Couples said, whose 72 moved him into a tie for eighth. He said the United States Golf Association is sure to take notice of how Woods manhandled the course.

'What he's going to do is screw up the US Open for everybody,' Couples lamented.

Woods should have stuck to around 10 or 11 under, Couples added, and convinced the USGA it had it right.

'They may have to regroup a little. He's just that much better,' he said.

Woods said his influence over the USGA is probably going to be limited to the 18th green because of what happened on Saturday, when his second shot got caught up in the fringe and did not roll back into the pond.

'After what the USGA witnessed on No 18 yesterday, that ball staying up, that will be shaved,' he said.

He began with a 40-foot birdie at the first and even when he was in trouble early, he really wasn't.

For instance, when he missed the fairway and the green at the par-five ninth, he stood over a difficult 66-foot chip from the back of the green and knocked it to 11/2 feet to save par.

Once again, Woods lived up to his reputation as one of the greatest front-runners in history.

He is 12-for-22 when holding at least a share of the first-round lead, 30-for-36 when tied or in the lead after two rounds and now 42 of 45 when either tied or leading after 54 holes.

His eight-shot lead after 54 holes broke the Buick record by three shots and his eight-shot margin of victory broke a 29-year-old tournament record by three shots.

LOS ANGELES TIMES