A two under round of 70 was enough for Tiger Woods as he took the Buick Open for the first time in his career.

The world number could afford a double bogey at the 17th on his way to a four-shot victory, which underlined the huge chasm between him and most professional golfers.

With the USPGA - the final Major of the season - starting on Thursday at Hazeltine in Minnesota, Woods will start a huge favourite for a title he has won twice in the last three years.

The Buick victory was his 33rd PGA Tour victory and fourth in his last eight starts.

Esteban Toledo, who began the final round one stroke behind Woods, stayed with the world's best golfer through 12 holes, but then collapsed with three straight bogeys.

Toledo shot a one over 73 to finish at 13 under, tied for second with Mark O'Meara (68), Brian Gay (68) and Fred Funk (71).

The last player to win a Major after winning a tournament the previous week was Sandy Lyle, who won the Greater Greensboro Open and the Masters in 1988.

The fate of this tournament was essentially decided between holes 13 and 15, as Toledo dropped shots at three consecutive holes.

Although Woods made an ugly five at the par three 17th, he still strode down the 18th fairway with a three shot lead.

While he made a solid par, Toledo bogeyed again, making the margin of victory alarmingly large.

Final scores
(US unless stated)

271 Tiger Woods 67 63 71 70
275 Mark O'Meara 68 69 70 68, Brian Gay 69 71 67 68, Fred Funk 71 66 67 71, Esteban Toledo (Mexico) 68 67 67 73
276 Pat Bates 68 67 73 68, Paul Azinger 69 70 69 68, Tom Byrum 70 68 68 70, Bob Tway 71 65 68 72
277 J.J. Henry 67 67 76 67, Jim Furyk 69 67 70 71, David Toms 68 68 70 71, Steve Flesch 72 68 66 71
278 Jay Haas 67 72 72 67, Glen Day 67 68 75 68, Retief Goosen (South Africa) 70 67 72 69, Bob Burns 72 70 67 69, Jeff Sluman 70 67 71 70, Brian Henninger 71 70 67 70, Tommy Tolles 72 64 71 71, Kent Jones 65 70 70 73
279 Stephen Ames (Canada) 70 71 71 67, Tom Pernice Jr. 69 68 73 69, Chris DiMarco 68 72 70 69, Scott Verplank 69 65 75 70, Stuart Appleby (Australia) 71 68 70 70, K.J. Choi (South Korea) 66 74 68 71, Luke Donald (Britain) 67 69 71 72