DORAL, Fla. — Tiger Woods is hitting his stride on a march to the Masters.

Woods had full control of his game Sunday and never let anyone get closer than three shots until he had locked up his 17th World Golf Championship title.

With a conservative bogey that didn’t matter on the final hole, he closed with a 1-under 71 to win the Cadillac Championship.

For the first time in five years, Woods has two wins before the Masters.

It was one year ago at Doral that Woods withdrew after 11 holes in the final round because of tightness in his left Achilles tendon, creating uncertainty about his health and whether he could ever get his game back.

False alarm.

Woods has won five times in the last year, the most of anyone in the world, and he can return to No. 1 with a win at Bay Hill in two weeks.

He won by two shots over Steve Stricker, who might want to claim a share of this trophy.

Stricker spent 45 minutes on the putting green with Woods on the eve of the tourney, helping him with his posture over putts.

Woods made 27 birdies this week, one short of his personal best on the PGA Tour.

“Thank you to Steve for the putting lesson,” Woods said at the trophy presentation. “It was one of those weeks where I felt pretty good about how I was playing, made a few putts and got it rolling.”

Stricker, playing a part-time schedule, picked up his second runner-up finish in just three starts. He closed with a 68, and had no regrets about offering Woods some help.

“At times you kick yourself,” Stricker said with a laugh. “He’s a good friend. We talk a lot about putting. It’s good to see him playing well.”

The Masters is a month away, and Woods is sure to be the favorite.

Rory McIlroy, the No. 1 player in the world, showed signs of recovering from his rough start to the season. He had a 65 and tied for eighth.

Woods won in January at Torrey Pines by four shots. He won for the fourth time at Doral, making this the seventh golf course where he has won at least four times.

Graeme McDowell, who started the final round four shots behind, made a birdie on the opening hole, but never got any closer. McDowell had third place to himself until he went for the green on the 18th hole and found the water. He made double bogey, shot 72 and fell into a four-way tie for third that cost him $172,500.

Phil Mickelson (71), Sergio Garcia (69) and Adam Scott (64) also tied for third.

Woods improved to 40-2 on the PGA Tour when he had the outright lead going into the final round, the last two wins with McDowell at his side. Woods last won while ahead at Bay Hill a year ago.

“The way Tiger was playing, I was always in chase mode,” McDowell said. “He was always going to be a tough guy to catch. Fair play to him. He played fantastic golf the last couple of days.”

Woods finished minus 19 at 269 and earned $1.5 million in winning this World Golf Championship for the seventh time.

McIlroy’s week ended on a happy note.

Not only did he finish the tournament, he might have turned the corner with a bogey-free 65. McIlroy opened with a 7-iron into 18 feet for eagle, which he called one of the best shots he hit. He shot a 32 on the back nine for a round that surprised him considering how far away he felt when he arrived at Doral.

“Just goes to show, it’s not as far away as you think,” McIlroy said. “That’s been one of my problems. I always think when I’m playing bad that it’s further away than it is. That’s just where I have to stay patient ... and know that if I put in the hard work, that the results will bear fruit. Whether that’s sooner or later, it doesn’t really matter.”

McIlroy said he won’t add a tournament the next two weeks, returning at the Houston Open before going to the Masters. He is signed up for the member-guest a week from Monday at The Medalist Club, presumably as the guest of former NBA great Michael Jordan.

“He’s asked me, so depending on what my schedule is and where I have to be ... we’ll see,” he said.

Scott had the low round of the tournament with eight birdies in his round of 64.

That’s what McDowell, Mickelson and Stricker would have needed to have any chance of catching Woods. As he did early in third round, McDowell gave it his best shot, only to have Woods answer on every occasion.

McDowell two-putted for birdie on the par-5 opening hole as Woods blasted a shot from a buried lie at the back of the green well past the pin and off the green. He had to chip close just to save par. McDowell hit his approach on the second hole to 7 feet and looked as if he might pick up another shot.

In what might have been the most significant putt Woods made, he buried an 18-footer for birdie.

That’s how it went all weekend. Woods never gave anyone a chance, and he didn’t give anyone much hope. His lead was back to four shots, he hit an 8-iron to 4 feet on the par-3 fourth hole, and no one seriously challenged him the rest of the way.

Mickelson hit a 200-yard shot into the breeze and over the water to a foot for a tap-in birdie on the par-5 eighth to get within four shots with 10 holes to play. He missed far too many short putts, however, making bogey on the ninth and 11th holes to fall too far back to matter.

That allowed another easy walk up the 18th hole for Woods to collect another WGC title, another seven-figure check, and offer another reminder that he is closer than ever to getting back to the top of golf.

Woods now has won over $24 million in the WGCs alone since the series began in 1999, winning 43 percent of the tournaments. This was his 76th career win on tour, leaving him six short of the record 82 wins by Sam Snead.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Cadillac Championship

Tiger Woods (550), $1,500,000 66-65-67-71—269

Steve Stricker (315), $880,000 67-67-69-68—271

Sergio Garcia (140), $417,500 66-72-67-69—274

G. McDowell (140), $417,500 66-67-69-72—274

Phil Mickelson (140), $417,500 67-67-69-71—274

Adam Scott (140), $417,500 72-70-68-64—274

Keegan Bradley (95), $240,000 68-68-69-71—276

Peter Hanson (81), $163,750 67-71-70-70—278

Rory McIlroy (81), $163,750 73-69-71-65—278

Justin Rose (81), $163,750 68-72-70-68—278

M. Thompson (81), $163,750 69-69-67-73—278

Jason Dufner (64), $113,750 69-69-69-72—279

Charles Howell III (64), $113,750 68-71-69-71—279

Dustin Johnson (64), $113,750 68-69-70-72—279

Richard Sterne, $113,750 70-71-71-67—279

Freddie Jacobson (56), $98,000 66-69-71-74—280

Charl Schwartzel (56), $98,000 71-65-69-75—280

Nicolas Colsaerts (53), $93,000 71-71-67-72—281

Bubba Watson (53), $93,000 66-69-71-75—281

Alexander Noren, $88,000 69-70-72-71—282

John Senden (50), $88,000 69-69-70-74—282

Webb Simpson (50), $88,000 72-67-71-72—282

Scott Jamieson, $83,000 70-69-72-72—283

Matteo Manassero, $83,000 71-71-75-66—283

Hunter Mahan (45), $79,000 67-72-71-74—284

Scott Piercy (45), $79,000 70-73-69-72—284

Lee Westwood (45), $79,000 73-69-71-71—284

Ernie Els (41), $75,000 73-69-72-71—285

Russell Henley (41), $75,000 70-72-70-73—285

John Huh (41), $75,000 71-67-71-76—285

Francesco Molinari, $75,000 78-66-72-69—285

Ian Poulter (41), $75,000 68-70-72-75—285

Jason Day (38), $71,500 74-66-75-71—286

Louis Oosthuizen (38), $71,500 70-75-69-72—286

Rickie Fowler (35), $68,500 69-69-71-78—287

Jim Furyk (35), $68,500 72-70-72-73—287

Brian Gay (35), $68,500 70-76-69-72—287

Matt Kuchar (35), $68,500 72-72-72-71—287

Padraig Harrington (31), $64,500 76-72-68-72—288

David Lynn (31), $64,500 71-70-76-71—288

Marcel Siem, $64,500 75-73-70-70—288

Bo Van Pelt (31), $64,500 68-75-71-74—288

Luke Donald (27), $60,500 70-76-71-72—289

Gonzalo Fdez-Castano, $60,500 72-70-73-74—289

Bill Haas (27), $60,500 72-73-72-72—289

Chris Wood, $60,500 71-74-71-73—289

Zach Johnson (24), $57,500 71-67-77-75—290

Geoff Ogilvy (24), $57,500 69-74-73-74—290

Branden Grace, $54,500 73-74-72-72—291

Martin Kaymer (21), $54,500 76-68-73-74—291

Carl Pettersson (21), $54,500 71-75-71-74—291

Nick Watney (21), $54,500 69-71-77-74—291

George Coetzee, $50,600 70-69-73-80—292

Stephen Gallacher, $50,600 74-75-69-74—292

Ryan Moore (16), $50,600 73-71-72-76—292

Thorbjorn Olesen, $50,600 75-75-70-72—292

Thaworn Wiratchant, $50,600 69-69-77-77—292

Mike Hendry, $48,750 72-66-78-77—293

Paul Lawrie, $48,750 78-73-72-70—293

Tim Clark (10), $47,500 72-73-71-79—295

Marcus Fraser, $47,500 73-72-77-73—295

John Merrick (10), $47,500 75-72-72-76—295

Rafael Cabrera Bello, $46,250 71-74-76-78—299

Jamie Donaldson, $46,250 72-77-76-74—299

Robert Garrigus (6), $45,500 75-75-74-76—300