Tiger Woods made eagle at the 18th hole for the third consecutive day to move further clear with a round to go in the American Express World Championship at The Grove.

There have only been six eagles at the closing hole at the course near Watford this week, and amazingly Woods has half of them.

The American is now on course to cruise to the 72nd win of his career — and sixth successive stroke play victory — after sinking a putt of almost 35 feet on the final green to charge six shots clear.

None of Europe's Ryder Cup heroes appear to have even the remotest chance of catching him.

The world number one did not have his magic of the first two rounds for much of the day, but after his five-shot halfway advantage had been cut to two he demonstrated again just what a class act he is.

Woods, whose last defeat in stroke play was on July 9 when he finished second to Trevor Immelman at the Western Open in Illinois, compiled a 67 today and is 19 under entering the closing round.

The final 18 holes have been brought forward three hours to mean the leaders will be the last out at 10.37am tomorrow because of the threat of thunderstorms.

Australian Adam Scott claimed second place now after a best-of-the-day 65, while Woods' fellow Americans Jim Furyk and Brett Quigley were joint third a stroke further back.

As for the European contingent, David Howell, Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter stood in joint sixth spot — nine adrift.

The task facing the chasing pack is monumental. 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 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 Order of Merit he led all the way from beating Woods in Shanghai last November until Casey's £1million World Match Play win two weeks ago.

They each have just two more events to come in the race — next week's Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and then the Volvo Masters at Valderrama in Spain.

Meanwhile, the threat of bad weather led organisers to decide that play in tomorrow's final round will start at 9am off the first and 10th tees.