World number one Woods fired a one-over par 73 to finish 72 holes at Doral's famed Blue Monster on 10-under par 278, two strokes ahead of runner-up Brett Wetterich for his 13th triumph in 24 World Golf Championship starts.

"Conditions were not easy," Woods said. "I had to grind it out. I had a hard time reading greens and making putts. I had a tough time out there."

In his final tuneup before the Masters, Woods made a double title defense, having won the US PGA event at Doral the past two years and taken this event last year in England when it was known as the American Express Championship.

Reigning British Open and PGA Championship winner Woods, 31, won his 56th career PGA victory, fifth on the all-time list behind Sam Snead's record 82 and only six shy of Arnold Palmer's fourth-place lifetime tour total.

Only US legend Snead has dominated a single tournament more than Woods has owned this event, which he also won in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Snead won the Greatern Greensboro Open eight times from 1938 to 1965. Only three other men have won an event six times - Jack Nicklaus at the Masters, Harry Vardon at the British Open and Alex Ross at the North-South Open.

Woods also became the first player to win five different events on the US PGA Tour at least three times in a row, having also done so at Bay Hill, the Memorial, the World Golf Invitational and the Buick Invitational.

It was the second victory of the season for Woods, who won his third Buick Invitational in January at Torrey Pines. He joined Fiji's Vijay Singh as the only two-time winners on the US tour this year.

Woods will seek his third major in a row and the 13th of his career in two weeks at the Masters, the first major championship of the year, at famed Augusta National Golf Club.

Asked how he felt about his game heading to Augusta, Woods said, "very pleased."

It was Woods' 39th victory in 42 times leading after 54 holes, making this triumph his 23rd in as many tries when ahead by more than a stroke after three rounds.

He began the day with a four-stroke lead and kept the cushion almost all day, stumbling at the finish but never giving his US compatriot a true opening.

Woods, who had the best final-round stroke average on ther US PGA Tour in five of the past seven years, opened with a birdie at the par-5 first hole, gave back a stroke with a birdie at three.

Woods sank a five-foot birdie putt at the fifth but found the rough near the green at the sixth and missed a testy eight-footer to make a bogey.

Wetterich, who was often longer off the tee than playing partner Woods, followed the miss with a six-foot birdie putt of his own to pull within four strokes of Woods' lead.

Woods had an eagle putt at the par-5 eighth but missed and botched a short birdie putt to settle for par. He recovered with birdies at nine and 10 but handed back the strokes with bogeys at 11 and 13.

A lip-out on a six-foot par putt at the 16th dropped Woods' lead to only three strokes, but Wetterich missed a birdie putt at the 17th that could have provided tension on the final hole.

On 18, Wetterich landed the ball six feet from the cup while a cautious Woods laid up and hit his approach to the back of the green 50 feet from the pin to an area where Mark Calcavecchia had an earlier putt roll into the water.

Woods rolled the ball two feet shy of the cup to ensure victory. Wetterich left his birdie putt inches short and settled for a par. Woods tapped in for bogey and the victory.

"I was pretty patient. I gave myself chances," Wetterich said. "I had some birdie putts. I missed a couple at the end but that's the way it goes.

"It's intimidating. No one put any pressure on him. It was easy until those last couple holes where maybe he had to think a little bit."