Woods is showing no mercy

LA JOLLA -- It was a semi-serious question: Can we just call this golf tournament, well, over?

“If there was ever a week for it, this might be it,” Joe Durant said Saturday.

Said Justin Leonard: “There’s two tournaments going on. I’m going to try to win the tournament that Tiger’s not playing.”

Said Boo Weekley: “I think he ought to just play with a two-iron.”

That’s what Tiger Woods can do to a tournament, turning it into a one-man clinic like the type he’s putting on at Torrey Pines, where probably the only unknown factor is the margin by which Woods will win.

He poured a six-under-par 66 on the place in the third round at the Buick Invitational, a six-birdie, no-frills, matter-of-fact stroll in the grass, and inflated his lead to eight shots along the way.

Just how much is eight shots?

That’s how many Brad Adamonis took to play the ninth hole Saturday, it equals the biggest third-round lead in three years on the PGA Tour, and it means that if Woods shoots no better than even par in the last round, somebody has to dip to 64 just to tie him. And nobody, not even Woods, has shot 64 all week.

What it really means, for all purposes, is that this thing is about as done as you’re going to get it -- today’s weather permitting, of course.

“I’d like to have the biggest lead you can possibly have, which would be nice,” said Woods, who is at 18-under 198. “You’ve still got to go out there and play well and post a number. Whether that takes us into [Sunday] or Monday, whatever it is.”

Woods began Saturday four shots ahead and went out and doubled his lead. Mathematically speaking, that’s not exactly a great formula for anyone trying to play catch-up, including Stewart Cink.

He rolled in a 38-foot eagle putt on the 18th to finish with a 69 and is second at 10-under 206, but Cink knows he’s barely in the same area code as Woods.

“It was frustrating. . . . I played pretty solidly, but it takes more than just playing solid to catch up to Tiger Woods,” Cink said. “He played phenomenally. The scary part is if you ask him, he probably would say that he played conservatively, but he put six birdies and no bogeys on us . . . and then at the end of the day, here we are.”

Depending whether the rain expected to drench the South Course at Torrey Pines limits or curtails play today, the only thing that has a chance to stall Woods on his way to a fourth consecutive Buick Invitational is . . . let’s see . . . apparently nothing.

After rounds of 67-65-66, his 18-under total tied the tournament record set by Woody Blackburn in 1985.

Woods, who has only one bogey in 54 holes, tapped in a three-footer for birdie at the par-three 11th to assume a seven-shot lead over Cink. He saved par with a 21-foot putt at the 12th to protect it, then expanded his advantage to eight shots when he two-putted from 31 feet to birdie the par-five 13th.

If or when Woods manages to close out this victory, it would add another noteworthy section to his already impressive portfolio. A 62nd victory would match Arnold Palmer’s total on the PGA Tour, fourth-most in history.

But there’s more. To put Woods’ next victory into perspective, his 62nd win would mean that the only active players who are within 43 victories of Woods are Phil Mickelson with 32 and Vijay Singh with 31. Davis Love III is third in line with 19.

In the last two years, Woods has won 15 of 31 starts on the PGA Tour. He can bring his batting average to an even .500 the next day or so.

Mark O’Meara, who has counseled Woods since Tiger turned pro in 1996, said Woods’ rate of success in an era of high-caliber competition is something to be admired.

“Well, it’s phenomenal. I mean, it’s absolutely unbelievable. And knowing that he’s 32 now, I’d say he’s very prepared this year. He very easily could win all four majors.”

There were only a few low numbers out there Saturday, including Leonard’s 65 that moved him from a tie for 48th to a tie for fourth. Unfortunately, that’s 11 shots behind Woods.

Durant’s 67 was good enough for third place by himself at nine-under 207, nine shots behind Woods. Doug LaBelle II, Aaron Baddeley and Weekley are tied with Leonard. Mickelson shot a 68, but he’s 13 back.

LaBelle was honest about what’s ahead.

“It appears we’re playing for second,” he said, “but you never know.”

Kevin Streelman, the former mini-tour player who made it into the field as the last alternate, played in the last group with Woods and Cink and shot 75 to tie for 11th. Streelman said he promoted himself to play in the AT&T; National that Woods hosts in June.

“I told him if he needed an alternate for Congressional, I’d be ready. He told me I’d play my way into the tournament.”

Woods is busy playing everybody else out of this tournament.

His 66 Saturday was his 25th consecutive round of par or better in the Buick. He has never finished worse than a tie for 10th in 10 appearances here.

And, what’s more, Woods has never lost a PGA Tour event when leading by more than one shot going into the last round.

The PGA Tour’s next stop is in Scottsdale, Ariz., but Woods’ itinerary includes flying to Dubai, a 20-hour journey, for a European Tour event.

Woods said he is prepared to be unable to finish his work here by this afternoon because of rain.

“We’re probably going to have to get it in on Monday, and if so, so be it.”

According to PGA Tour tournament director Mark Russell, the tour’s goal is to play 72 holes, and not even an eight-shot lead by Woods is going to change that.

“There’s no mercy rule,” he said. “We’re not playing Little League baseball.”

thomas.bonk@latimes.com