The 24-year-old won by an incredible 15 strokes to surpass the previous greatest margin of victory which was held by Old Tom Morris, who won the 1862 British Open by 13 strokes.

An emotional Woods admitted that he had felt confident over the past four days.

"All week I made those big putts. I drove brilliantly at Pebble Beach," said Woods.

"I've had a sense of calmness that I haven't had in a while. For some reason I was able to stay calm throughout."

Sensational

His nearest challenger and best placed European was Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, who finished on three over along with South Africa's Ernie Els.

The American maintained the great lead he had after the third day and then went on to build on his superiority by holing four birdies between the ninth and 14th, as the predominantly American crowd looked on in awe.

Woods went to nine-under with a 20-foot birdie putt at the 10th hole and then rolled in a 25-footer on the par three 12th to take him 10-under.

The American narrowly missed out on an eagle on the 13th but putted the 12-inch effort for a birdie.

And on the 14th the world number one wowed the galleries by rolling in a six-footer for yet another birdie.

Not since Henry Cotton in 1934, had a player taken more than a 10-stroke margin into the final day, but the sensational 24-year-old built upon that lead and then banished all asunder to claim his third major championship.

Lee Westwood led the British pack ending his tournament on five over while Nick Faldo, who had a relatively good championship, finished on six over.

Scotland's Colin Montgomerie continued to struggle and carded a score of 15 over.