Tiger Woods fired a five-under-par 65 to move 10 shots clear after the third round of the Dunlop Phoenix tournament on Saturday, putting himself in prime position for ha first victory in Japan.
Woods, who lost his world number one ranking to Fiji's Vijay Singh in September, also moved closer to his first strokeplay title of the year with a brilliant bogey-free round.
"It's been coming," said the American after reaching the clubhouse on a 13-under-par total of 197. "I've had three second places in my last four finishes. But this is huge."
Woods won the last of his eight majors at the 2002 U.S. Open but has been threatening a return to his top form all week at the $1.9 million event in Miyazaki.
"This is one of the biggest tournaments to win in Japan and right now I'm in a great position to get it done tomorrow," added the 28-year-old American, who has failed to win in three previous visits to Japan.
"Things are starting to come together."
Woods, whose sole win this season came at the WGC-Match Play Championship in February, began the day with a three-stroke advantage over 2002 champion Kaname Yokoo and birdied two of the first three holes at the Phoenix Country Club.
He made back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 and another on the 18th to extend his lead to a massive 10 shots over Sweden's Daniel Chopra and the Japanese pair Ryoken Kawagishi and Naomichi Ozaki.
