Tiger Woods got off to a hot start at the WGC-Cadillac Championship At TPC Blue Monster and he has continued his strong play on Saturday, as the number two golfer in the world took a commanding lead at the tournament, shooting one of his best rounds of the season.

According to ESPN.com, Woods continued putting the ball very well, shooting a five-under par to add to his four-stroke lead, taking the top of the leaderboard at 18-under par. Woods has a lead over Graeme McDowell heading into the Sunday play, making 24 birdies at the tournament, including seven more on Saturday.

Woods had previously been struggling with his putting, but that has not been evident at Doral, as he has made six of his 11 putts between 10 and 20 feet, according to ESPN.com. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championship events and he had a fantastic shot on the 18th hole, making a putt from 15 feet.

"After I made birdie on 15, I was looking pretty good with a six-shot lead, and with a drivable par 4," Woods said. "Two holes later, it's now cut down to three. I piped a tee shot down there, hit a little 9-iron there and was able to pour that putt in there."

Woods is taking a four-shot lead into Sunday and puts his 39-2 record on the line when he has the lead heading into the final round of PGA Tour events. McDowell slipped a bit on Saturday and tried to catch Woods while being down six-strokes with three holes left in his round. He made an eagle and used a Woods penalty shot to close the lead and finished with a 69 and sitting at four back.

Phil Mickelson was solid on Saturday as well, but just missed out on the final group, as he remains five-shots behind with Steve Stricker. Mickelson shot a 69 and made four birdies following a tough double bogey on his third hole.

"I threw away five or six shots on the greens and around the greens, and I feel like I don't have to play too much different," Mickelson said. "I just can't afford to give away those shots. I'm going to have to play a round like I played at Pebble last year, something in the low 60s."

Woods has not won a WGC event in his past 10 tries, but he is in an excellent position on Sunday, with a four-stroke cushion and a hot putting stroke. He made nearly every shot on Saturday and has an excellent chance to add his fourth career Doral win.

"You know what kind of closer he is," Stricker said. "When he gets the lead in a golf tournament, it's tough. He doesn't let too many guys in usually when he gets the lead. We've all got our work cut out for us. We're going to have to go out and try to make birdies on a difficult golf course, which is hard to do."