Tiger, 30, youngest to 50 PGA titles

Tiger Woods won his 50th PGA Tour title yesterday, shooting his fourth-straight six-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open.

Woods reached a season-low 24 under yesterday and made a career-high 28 birdies in the tournament, holding off Furyk - who closed with a 64 - for his fourth win of the year and a check of US$864,000.

Woods became the seventh member of the PGA Tour’s 50-win club after improving to 21-for-21 when leading by more than one stroke after three rounds. The 30-year-old Woods beat Jack Nicklaus’ record pace to the milestone, which Nicklaus reached in 1973 at the age of 33.

Woods, coming off his emotional victory in the British Open, will get a chance to win his 12th major at the PGA Championship in two weeks in suburban Chicago, where the superstar hopes to close in on the record he covets: Nicklaus’ 18 major championships.

Woods has won nearly a fourth of the 210 PGA Tour events he has entered since turning pro in 1996. This year, his four victories have come in 11 events.

At Warwick Hills, Woods likely ended any hopes his competitors had when he made four birdies on the front nine to build on the two-shot lead he had at the start of the fourth round.

Woods bogeyed the 12th hole, allowing Furyk to tie him briefly, but took the lead alone for good at 13 when his approach from 105 yards landed close enough for a tap-in birdie.

At 15, Woods’ birdie gave him a two-shot lead and essentially clinched his second Buick Open victory.