Woods extends his PGA Tour win streak to 7

SAN DIEGO -- Tiger Woods resumed his improbable pursuit of Byron Nelson with a result that was all too predictable.\nWoods caught up to the pack with an eagle, buried the hopes of his final challenger with a birdie and closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Buick Invitational for his seventh consecutive PGA Tour victory, the second-longest streak in history.\nNelson set the record in 1945 with 11 in a row, a record long thought to be out of reach.\nThe way Woods is playing -- no worse than second in stroke play anywhere in the world since July -- that might no longer be the case.\nWoods won six in a row in 2000, a streak that Phil Mickelson stopped at Torrey Pines. But against a cast of challengers short on experience and victories, the world's No. 1 player met little resistance in winning the Buick Invitational for the third straight year.\nWoods doesn't consider this a true winning streak because he lost once in Europe and twice in Asia since September. But it still counts in the PGA Tour record books, and the only question is when it will resume.\n"To somehow sneak out with the win is a cool feeling," Woods said.\nHe got some help from Andrew Buckle and Jeff Quinney, both of whom had at least a share of the lead on the back nine until stumbling in a span of about 15 minutes on a cool, breezy afternoon at Torrey Pines.\nCharles Howell III provided the final challenge with three birdies in a four-hole stretch, but Woods answered with an approach to 2 1/2 feet on the 17th hole for birdie that allowed him to play it safe on the par-5 closing hole.\nWoods finished at 15-under 273 for his 55th career victory, the fifth time he has started a new season with a trophy.