Woods's lead briefly fell to two shots on Saturday, but he battled back to card a 67 for his third round and increase his overnight lead by a shot.
THE GROVE: A 35-foot putt earned Tiger Woods a third straight eagle at the 18th hole and ensured the world number one carries a six-shot lead into the final round of the American Express WGC tournament.
Hopes the tournament could be revived as a contest rose when Woods's lead briefly fell to two shots on Saturday, but he battled back to card a 67 for his third round and increase his overnight lead by a shot.
"I hit the ball far better than the first two days and made absolutely nothing until the last, of course," said Woods.
"I didn't have the feel, didn't have the pace. But that hole's been good to me, hasn't it? I just think it's such a big momentum getter on the last. It was huge for me."
Australian Adam Scott claimed second place after a best-of-the-day 65, while Woods' fellow Americans Jim Furyk and Brett Quigley were joint third a stroke further back.
Europe's Ryder Cup stars David Howell and Henrik Stenson joined Ian Poulter in joint sixth spot, nine adrift of Woods.
In his 10-year professional career, Woods has now held the lead with a round to go on 50 occasions and has failed to win only five times.
He has never lost more than a two-shot advantage and has not lost the outright lead since Thomas Bjorn beat him in the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic.
Victory would be his 10th in 15 World Golf Championship stroke play events and his ninth of the year. Woods missed birdie chances of seven and six feet on the opening two greens and after failing with a nine-foot attempt on the sixth it almost came as no surprise when he three-putted the eighth for his first bogey since the 17th hole of his first round.
That left him only two ahead of both Howell and Stewart Cink, who both turned in 33, and although Woods put further space between him and the rest with a 10-footer on the ninth, he missed another six-footer at the next.
Minutes earlier Howell had found the cup from nearly 18 feet on the same green and when Cink birdied the next the pair of them were only two behind once more. But that was as close as Woods allowed anybody to get to him.
Howell bogeyed the 11th, Cink dropped shots at the 12th and 13th, and when Woods' 188-yard approach over the water to the 12th pulled up just six feet from the flag he was in total control again.
A pitch to two feet brought him another birdie at the long 16th, and then came his stunning finale on a 567-yard uphill hole which he has now played three times in a total of nine shots.
In all probability, those behind need to set themselves a target other than winning to keep their interest alive. With Paul Casey last-but-two of the 60 players, Howell probably needs a top-six finish to go top of the European money list.
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