Tiger Woods again failed to take advantage of a sensational start to the third round of the Hero World Challenge as Hideki Matsuyama opened up a huge lead in the Bahamas.
Woods impressed on Albany's outward nine for the third day running as he birdied four of the first five holes to get within two shots of the lead, but a wayward driver hampered his progress after the turn and he carded his second double-bogey of the week at the last to return a disappointing 70.
His inward 38 left him 11 shots adrift of the red-hot Matsuyama, who made seven birdies and a spectacular hole-out for eagle in a 65 that lifted the Japanese ace to 19 under and in prime position to land his third victory in six weeks.
As Matsuyama distanced himself from the remaining 16 players in the field, it was Woods who got the pulses racing early on with a superb display of controlled shot-making and assured putting. The tournament host clipped a wedge to three feet at the opening hole to set up a birdie, and he converted a sublime tee-shot to four feet at the next before chipping to tap-in range with his third to the par-five third hole.
Woods rolled in a confident six-foot putt to save par at the fourth, and he came up short and right with a poorly-struck iron to the fifth before holing a perfect splash-out from the sand to move to 10 under par.
He scrapped his way down the long sixth and dropped his first shot since the 18th hole in round one when he missed from five feet for par, but he got it back immediately with a solid bunker escape to seven feet and a well-judged putt.
The 14-time major champion prompted further cheers when he drained a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 11th, but he slipped back down the leaderboard when he drove into waste areas on both the 13th and 14th holes and was unable to salvage his par each time.
Woods missed a good chance to claw a shot back on the 15th despite missing another fairway, and he found sand twice at the next but escaped with a four with another clutch six-foot putt.
The 40-year-old holed the best putt of the day from 30-foot range for his seventh birdie at 17, but he pushed a three-wood wide right from the final tee and tugged his second from a tricky lie into the hazard as he ran up a closing six to slide back to eight under.
But the star of the day was Matsuyama by a distance as he roared seven strokes clear of his nearest challengers to consolidate his status as the hottest player in the world right now.
The world No 6 started the round tied for the lead with US Open champion Dustin Johnson, and they both birdied the opening hole before Matsuyama took the outright lead with further gains at the third and sixth.
The runaway WGC-HSBC Champions winner then doubled his advantage when he holed an 86-yard lob-wedge at the next, although he bogeyed the eighth before getting the shot back at the long 11th.
Matsuyama extended his lead with birdies at 14 and 15, and he hit back from another mistake at the 16th with his seventh birdie of the day at the next before holing a clutch five-foot putt for par at the last.
Johnson stuttered with bogeys at nine and 10 before picking up three birdies in four holes from the 12th to stay within striking distance of the leader, but he needed two attempts to escape the waste area to the right of the 18th fairway and signed off with an ugly six to slip to 12 under.
The American shares second with Open champion Henrik Stenson, who carded seven birdies and just one bogey in an excellent 66, while Brandt Snedeker (69) and Matt Kuchar (71) are a further shot adrift.