Tiger extends his lead in third round at Doral

Tiger Woods continued his mastery of the TPC Blue Monster course at Trump Doral in Miami, Fla. on Saturday. Even with a bad break, he still shot a 5-under-par 67 and takes a four-stroke advantage over Graeme McDowell into Sunday’s final round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.

Woods has a 54-hole score of 18-under 198. McDowell is next at 202, followed by Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker at 203.

Tiger is 39-2 when holding the outright lead after three rounds on the PGA TOUR. The only time he has ever lost when leading by three or more strokes was at the 2010 World Challenge, an 18-player tournament he hosts at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., when he was defeated by McDowell in a playoff.

The 37-year-old Woods will be seeking his seventh win in the Cadillac Championship, his second victory of the season and his 76th career win on the PGA TOUR. He already owns a record 16 WGC titles, his last coming in 2009.

For the third-consecutive round, Woods was a birdie machine. After carding nine on Thursday and eight on Friday, he added seven on Saturday. He now has 24 through three rounds, bettering his previous personal record of 22 set at the 2007 Tour Championship and 2005 Ford Championship.

Tiger has also sparkled on the greens since receiving a putting lesson from good pal Steve Stricker on Wednesday. He used 25 putts Saturday and has a combined 74 after 54 holes, the lowest total of his PGA TOUR career.

Tiger began the third round with a two-stroke lead over McDowell, his playing companion, on a cool and cloudy afternoon. At the 517-yard, par-5 first hole, Woods drove into the right rough and had to punch his second shot through palm trees. He executed superbly, the ball landing on the front of the putting surface and stopping 11 feet past the hole. Tiger easily two-putted for a birdie.

At the 408-yard, par-4 second, Woods drove into the left rough, then hoisted a short iron from 119 yards less than a foot from the cup for a tap-in birdie. Tiger made it three-in-a-row at the 416-yard, par-4 third, where he found the fairway off the tee, knocked his second shot from 141 yards nine feet from the hole and buried the putt.

With the wind starting to pick up, Woods was fortunate to escape the 217-yard, par-3 fourth with a par. His 7-iron tee shot came up 60 feet short of the hole, just off the front of the green. Tiger elected to putt and the ball scooted 19 feet beyond the cup. Digging deep and not wanting to ruin his great start, he poured in the putt and vigorously pumped his right fist.

At the 368-yard, par-4 fifth, Woods hit a good drive with a 5-wood, then tried to punch a soft 9-iron from 132 yards that came up short of the green and settled into thick Bermuda rough. Unable to spin the ball, Tiger chipped 13 feet past the pin and two-putted for a bogey.

Woods gave himself a good birdie look at the 432-yard, par-4 sixth hole, where he hit a wedge from the right rough 13 feet left of the hole but just missed his birdie attempt. He followed with a two-putt par from 45 feet at the 454-yard, par-4 seventh.

Tiger got back on track at the 560-yard, par-5 eighth, where he played his second shot 121 yards short of the green, then punched a wedge 2 1/2 feet from the cup for an easy birdie. He just missed a 15-foot birdie putt at the 171-yard, par-3 ninth, the ball catching the right edge of the hole and lipping out. Still, he made the turn in 3-under 33, good for a one-stroke cushion over McDowell.

At the 537-yard, par-5 10th, a dogleg left with water along the left side of the hole, Woods missed the fairway to the right, slashed his second shot 103 yards short of the green, then hit a wonderful third shot that almost hopped into the cup and settled six feet from the pin, Tiger converting for birdie.

Woods drove into the right rough at the 402-yard, par-4 11th and had to cut his second shot around a palm tree. He did so successfully, finding the front fringe of the putting surface and did well to two-putt from 54 feet, making a six-footer coming back.

Tiger missed a good birdie opportunity at the 583-yard, par-5 12th, where he was fooled by the break on an uphill 12-foot putt. He made another nice two-putt from the front fringe at the 230-yard, par-3 13th, running his first putt four feet past. At the 460-yard, par-4 14th, Woods’ approach shot from 155 yards rolled over the back of the green, but he hit a nice chip to two feet and saved par.

Moving to the 166-yard, par-3 15th, Tiger hit a perfectly-judged short iron just inside nine feet left of the pin and stroked home the birdie putt. He went for the green with a 3-wood at the 311-yard, par-4 16th, where the tees were moved up, but missed the green to the right. Woods hit a flop shot 15 feet past the hole and two-putted for a par.

At the 432-yard, par-4 17th, Tiger’s tee shot drifted right and his ball lodged in the trunk of a palm tree. Fortunately for Woods, PGA TOUR rules official Brad Fabel was able to identify the ball using binoculars, enabling Tiger to take an unplayable lie and drop near the tree with a one-stroke penalty. Otherwise, the ball would have been deemed lost and he would have had to return to the tee to re-hit. Woods hit his third shot from heavy rough onto the back fringe of the green and two-putted for a bogey.

Tiger pounded a big drive at the dangerous 448-yard, par-4 18th hole, finding the right side of the fairway. With 146 yards to the front-left pin, guarded by water on the left, Woods hit a nice draw into the wind with a 9-iron, and the ball finished 16 feet right of the hole. Tiger’s putt found the center of the cut for a very satisfying birdie.

“After I made birdie on 15, I was looking pretty good with a six-shot lead, and with a drivable par-4,” he said. “Two holes later, it’s now cut to three.”

As for the tough break on 17, Woods just shook his head.

“It’s been a weird couple of weeks,” said Tiger. “Last week, I had two lost balls, then I had one stuck in a tree.”

Woods, trying to produce a wire-to-wire win, has shared the low score of the day for three-straight rounds. He begins final round play Sunday at 2:40 p.m. ET with McDowell. Windy conditions are expected.

“Tomorrow’s supposed to be tough,” Woods said. “It’s playing tough. These greens are baked out and it’s hard to hold them.”