World number one Woods began the round with a three-shot lead

Tiger Woods shot the lowest score of his career to win the Tour Championship by a staggering eight strokes.

The American led throughout the final round, carding a four-under-par 66 at East Lake in the final event of the new FedEx Cup play-off series.

He finished on 23 under, two strokes better than his previous best total of 21 under at the 2000 NEC Invitational.

Victory was his fourth in his last five events and gave the world number one the FedEx Cup title and a $10m bonus.

It was also his 61st victory on the US PGA Tour, just one behind Arnold Palmer on the all-time list.

"It's been just a phenomenal week. I just hit shot after shot and when I got on the greens my speed was good all week," said Woods.

He started the final round with a three-shot advantage over fellow American Mark Calcavecchia and was a little shaky early on, with a bogey at the par-three second followed by a 10-foot par save at the third.

You put pressure on him, he seems to step up his game... he's unbelievable Zach Johnson on Tiger Woods

However, he soon found his groove, picking up three birdies in four holes starting at number six to go four shots clear at the turn.

He added three more birdies on the back nine before bogeying the 17th.

That did not stop him from shattering the tournament record by no fewer than six strokes.

Woods not only collected $10m for winning the FedEx Cup but also received $1.26m dollars for winning the tournament.

Calcavecchia hit a 71 to share second place at 15 under with US Masters champion Zach Johnson, who carded a 68.

Johnson, who shot a course-record 60 in Saturday's third round, paid tribute to the dominance of Woods.

"You put pressure on him, he seems to step up his game," he said. "If he's behind you, he moves in front of you. It just doesn't seem to matter. He's unbelievable."