Tiger Woods, having decided not to play the Dubai Desert Classic this week, moved in sight of yet another World Golf Championships title today.
At the halfway stage of his 36-hole final against Ryder Cup team-mate David Toms in the Accenture match play championship at La Costa near San Diego top seed Woods was four up - and that without ever finding his best form.
Toms, even as the sixth seed, knew he had probably to be on the top of his game just to have a chance, but he was round in a three-over-par 75 to Woods's 71.
"Neither of us played well," admitted Woods, who has won six of his previous 12 WGC events in addition to eight majors and 34 other individual tournaments.
The trophy comes with a cheque for over a million US dollars and if Woods takes it his world championship earnings would swell to nearly $8million. Ireland's Darren Clarke, winner of the match play in 2000 and a quarter-finalist this year, is next best with $1.9million.
The tone was set from the very first hole. Toms, America's top points-scorer at The Belfry last September, three-putted there and at the long third fell two behind for the first time all week when he failed to match Woods's birdie.
Toms did make an 18-footer to win the fourth, but he three-putted again on the next and by failing to get up and down at the seventh after a wayward approach he went three down.
Woods then had only his second bogey in 86 holes at the scene of his first one - the ninth green. As against Stephen Leaney in the third round (when he was already six up) it came when he three-putted.
But Toms then had his fourth bogey of the day at the 10th, missing another green to be three down again, and Woods required only a par on the 14th as well when Toms failed to find the putting surface again.
Woods could have made the gap five on the last, but missed from six feet after his opponent had failed from seven.
"I don't know whether the three-putt on the first played on my mind, but I couldn't get the speed all morning," commented 2001 US PGA champion Toms. "Hopefully this afternoon will be better."