San Diego ? Tiger Woods had no pain in his left knee, no rust in his game and no trouble with Phil Mickelson.

Playing for the first time since Dec. 12 surgery, Woods looked better than ever Sunday by winning the Buick Invitational in another runaway.

In an electric atmosphere more suited for a prize fight, Woods delivered an early knockout and closed with a 4-under-par 68 for a four-stroke victory.

“He looked like he’d been playing for weeks in a row,” playing partner Brad Faxon said. “Every part of his game was on. It’s hard to imagine someone playing any better.”

Not bad for a guy using inferior equipment, as Mickelson recently suggested.

Woods hit every fairway early in the round to expand his lead. He hit a 4-iron into the wind to within three feet on the par-3 11th hole to seal the win, and he thrilled the crowd with a shot out of the rough to about 15 feet out for an improbable birdie on No. 15.

“I got better each and every day,” Woods said. “That’s just getting back into the competitive spirit.”

Though the two-month layoff was the longest of his career, it looked as if Woods was never gone.

“He’s obviously a very impressive player,” Mickelson said after a 72, finishing six shots behind Woods and tied for fourth with Briny Baird and Arron Oberholser. “He played some exceptional shots in the wind. It would have been tough to catch him.”

Phil Mickelson, right, rolls a birdie attempt on the second hole as Tiger Woods watches during the final round of the Buick Invitational. Woods fired a 4-under-par 68 Sunday, winning by four strokes over Carl Pettersson in San Diego.

Carl Pettersson of Sweden had a 69 to finish four strokes behind, although he never was a factor on a sunny day at Torrey Pines. Faxon was the only challenger until he ran into problems off the tee. He shot 72 to finish third at 277.

Woods won for the 35th time on the PGA Tour, and it was his 11th tour victory by at least four shots. He also improved his record to 27-2 when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, and this was as easy as any of them.

The defining shot came at the 231-yard 11th hole, when his 4-iron never left the flag and stopped three feet in front of the hole.

“I haven’t hit too many money shots,” he said. “At least not this kind of money.”

Woods finished at 16-under 272 and earned $810,000.

He also sent a message to Ernie Els, who won by 10 shots earlier Sunday at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia, his fourth victory in five events this year.

The top two players in the world won’t get together until the Match Play Championship in two weeks.

Mickelson’s consolation prize was hitting it past Woods off the tee, although he was 25 yards sideways on a couple of holes. Mickelson didn’t record his first birdie until the 13th hole, and at that point he was seven back.