And when the third round ended, it looked as though no one had a spitting chance.

With only one mistake on a windy day filled with them, Woods shot 4-under 68 and stretched his lead to four shots in the CA Championship, leaving him poised to capture his third straight title at Doral and send him to the Masters on a high.

(Hawai'i's Dean Wilson shot a 66 and moved from a tie for 52nd to a tie for 18th at 2-under 214.)

About the only intrigue came from Sergio Garcia.

Disgusted by missing yet another short putt, the 27-year-old Spaniard tapped in for a three-putt bogey and then spit into the cup. Garcia didn't deny this lapse in etiquette, only its effect on the guys playing behind him.

''I just missed the putt and I wasn't too happy,'' Garcia told NBC Sports. ''Don't worry. It did go in the middle (of the cup) and wasn't going to affect anyone else. If it did, I would have wiped it off.''

Garcia wound up with a 71 and was seven shots behind, but he had plenty of company.

Woods again wiped out the field with superb shots and by making enough putts to reach 11-under 205. He is 38-3 on the PGA Tour with at least a share of the 54-hole lead, and he has never lost anywhere in the world when leading by at least four.

Brett Wetterich had a 67 and will play in the final group tomorrow.

Nick O'Hern, who ended Woods' seven-tournament winning streak on the PGA Tour by beating him in the Accenture Match Play Championship a month ago, played bogey-free for a 66 and was another shot behind at 6-under 210.

Everyone else had their chances. Most everyone else ran into trouble.

Ernie Els got to within one shot of the lead midway through the round until he quit making birdies, then took double bogey on the 18th hole that started with an errant drive and ended with a bunker shot that went over the green. He had to settle for a 71, and for the third straight day, the Big Easy refused to speak to reporters.