TIGER WOODS was edging towards his 68th PGA Tour victory last night as the final round of the Buick Open continued in Michigan.
The world number one, a two-time winner of the event at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, had begun the day at 17 under par, one shot clear of Michael Letzig, with Australia's John Senden at 15 under.
Woods needed only two birdies on the front nine of the 7,127-yard par-72 course to stretch his lead as both Letzig, his playing partner, and Senden, struggled early on.
Woods began the day with a one-shot cushion and picked up birdies at the fourth and seventh to reach the turn with a two-shot cushion over the field at 19-under. He was still on that tally through the 14th.
Letzig's double bogey at the par-three eighth proved a blow and he was level par for the day on 16 under after 14.
Senden was two under for the day on 17 under after 15 holes. Greg Chalmers was also just two adrift, on 17 under, after 16 holes.
American Roland Thatcher was already sitting back in the clubhouse following a spectacular closing 64 which moved him to 17 under.
Korea's Y E Yang, meanwhile, was also doing his best to score before he ran out of holes.
His birdie at the 16th moved him to five under for the day and he finished with a 67 for a final 16 under total.
Letzig played with Woods in the final round of the Memorial Tournament in June, when they started the day in a tie for seventh and finished 10 shots apart with the world number one winning and his younger rival tying for 14th.
Ben Crane shot a 68 for a three -under tally and was joined on 15-under by Woody Austin, Vaughn Taylor and Brian Vranesh who all filled places in the top ten prior to finishing the closing holes.
American Matt Bettencourt was having a day to forget though. He had started the day in a tie for fourth but opened with a 10 at the par-five first, then bogeyed the par-four second and was down at eight under after 12 holes.
Greg Owen finished his weekend with a level-par 72, the Englishman closing at nine under par. Golf's ultimate front-runner, Woods has a 35-1 record when holding the solo lead going into final round.
