Tiger Woods fired a one-under par 71 on Sunday to win the US$5.2 million Buick Invitational by eight shots over Japan's Ryuji Imada.
Woods, who started the day with a commanding eight-stroke lead, finished with a 19-under total of 269 to claim his fourth straight and sixth career title at this event.
Woods wasted no time on Sunday morning in extending his lead, opening with a birdie at the first hole that gave him a nine-shot cushion. He stretched his lead to 10 with a birdie at the sixth.
Imada had one of the best rounds of a rainy day, his 67 catapulting him from a tie for eighth at the start of the day to second at 11-under 277.
"My goal going into today was to finish second, and you know, that's almost like winning the golf tournament to me," Imada said.
"With Tiger having an eight-shot lead or whatever there was pretty much no chance for me to catch him," he said.
Woods bogeyed the eighth to drop to 19-under and finished the front nine 1-under.
Woods struggled coming in, making three birdies, but also making three straight bogeys.
His 71 was his first round in the 70s since an opening round 72 the first week of September at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He had posted 19 rounds in the 60s.
"Today, I wanted to go out there and shoot an under-par round and have no bogeys," Woods said. "I got half of it right."
Stewart Cink, who started Sunday in second place, fired a one-over 73 to finished tied for third with South African Rory Sabbatini (67) at nine-under.
The win marked the second time Woods has won an event four consecutive times. The other was Bay Hill, which he won from 2000 to 2003.
Woods' success seems to bode well for this year's US Open, which will be held here at the South Course at Torrey Pines.
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