Woods cruises to third win of year

Tiger Woods has been thinking about Augusta National since the new year began. It obviously hasn't been that big of a distraction.

Fresh from a two-week break, Woods began his march to The Masters in style today by winning the Bay Hill Invitational, his third victory in six tournaments this year.

Woods never made a bogey over the final 34 holes in tough, tricky winds, and closed with a 2-under-par 70 to beat Davis Love III by four strokes, his largest margin of victory since his 12-stroke romp in The Masters three years ago.

"I think I'm heading in the right direction for Augusta," Woods said. "Hopefully, my game is peaking towards that. Hopefully, next week I'll have some signs that I'm actually playing a little bit better."

Better?

All Woods did today was turn a two-stroke lead into five strokes before Love could even get warmed up.

It wasn't a thrilling playoff victory like in Hawaii, or a miraculous comeback as at Pebble Beach. This was simply Woods showing off his sheer talent, and sending a frightening message to everyone else.

"Remember how he used to grade himself? He's about an A-minus right now, every week," Love said. "And an A-plus some weeks."

With masterful control of his entire game, Woods led by at least two strokes throughout the final round. He finished at 18-under 270 and won $540,000, bringing his season total to more than $2.5 million. Only he and David Duval won more money all of last year.

"It's a lot of fun to go out there and compete and know that you have a chance to win the tournament," Woods said.

He speaks from experience.

It was the 14th consecutive time on the PGA Tour, and 17th time around the world, that Woods had at least a share of the 54-hole lead and went on to win. It also was the fourth straight time since late October he faced Love and experienced little pressure.

Of course, Woods had a lot to do with that.

"I figured if I could go out there and stay away from the big number and just make a lot of pars, that would put a little pressure on Davis," Woods said.

Love started the day two strokes behind and never got any closer. He birdied the 18th hole for a 2-under 72 and finished second in Arnold Palmer's tournament for the third time.

"I'm just making silly mistakes," said Love, who has gone nearly two years without winning. "You're not going to beat Tiger Woods playing like that."

Skip Kendall shot a 67 and finished third.

Woods has been pointing to The Masters since the season began, but each tournament draws him that much closer. And each round only sends a stronger message that he will be the man to beat.

Woods was 12-under on the par-5s this week and rarely put himself in serious trouble. Whether a new winning streak is about to begin remains to be seen, but Woods always seems to give himself a chance.

He now has gone an entire year without finishing worse than 18th in a stroke-play tournament, and his victory at Bay Hill was his 10th in his last 16 PGA Tour events.

Love, meanwhile, will have to go back to the drawing board.

He has never beaten Woods when he has had a chance, an 0-5 record that dates to the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, Woods's first victory as a professional. The last two losses, both blowouts, before today came in match play, which is essentially what the final round was all about.

"I've learned my lessons," Love said after the third round. "You've got to try not to get caught up in the moment."

Today was one of those moments, a day bustling with excitement. Bay Hill sold more tickets than ever before, the gallery forming a massive aisle to the first tee and standing four deep all the way down the 441-yard first hole.

And Love appeared to get caught up in it.

He bogeyed from the front bunker on No. 2, dropped another shot on No. 3 when his approach bounded left against the rocks guarding the water, and yet another when he failed to birdie the 530-yard fourth hole and Woods two-putted for birdie from 40 feet.

Suddenly, Woods's lead was five and Love was looking lost.

Four down at the turn, Love slowly crept back into view with a 6-foot birdie on No. 10 and a 10-footer on the 11th . That shaved the lead in half and gave him hope he could pull off the kind of comeback Woods has patented.

But Love couldn't sustain the momentum. His approach on the par-5 12th found the bunker and he failed to get up-and-down to match Woods's birdie.

"That was my chance," Love said. "And I didn't take advantage of it."

The end got messy. Love missed a 3-foot par putt that rimmed around the cup on 14, and he chunked a wedge from the fairway that led to a bogey on the next hole, giving Woods plenty of breathing room.

The way Woods is playing, he didn't need much.

DIVOTS: John Daly didn't make an 18, but he felt just as bad after signing for an 87 in the final round. "That's the worst I've felt since the Dutch Open," where he says he played the final three holes in 1-under to shoot 89. Daly said the epoxy came out of his putter head on the seventh hole, and he couldn't execute any of his shots. "I can't even imagine shots or where they're going to go," he said. "It's embarrassing. I don't know what else to do." Daly had nothing worse than a 7, but made only nine pars. ... In the 12 times Davis Love III has played a fourth round at Bay Hill, he has shot in the 60s only once. ... Phil Mickelson, the '97 champion, hit three balls in the water on the par-5 sixth and took a 10. He finished with a 78, his worst score at Bay Hill.

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