In annals of the PGA Tour, his name is now indelible

LA JOLLA —  Ah, order is restored to the sports world.

For a moment there it looked as if the laws of physics were unraveling when Tom Brady’s pass was picked off in crunch time of the AFC championship game last week.

Then Roger Federer won a Grand Slam tennis event, and the PGA golf tournament here at Torrey Pines ended up with Tiger Woods as the champion.

In a related story, the sun rose in the east and set in the west.

That’s seven consecutive times Woods has played in a PGA Tour event and won. This makes three consecutive victories at the Buick Invitational, where he has received the winner’s car five times in eight years. (He must have the largest collection of Buicks outside of Avis.) Woods hasn’t lost on American soil since July. Woods wins so often the back of the PGA media guide mistakenly lists him as the defending champion of the Honda Classic instead of actual winner Luke Donald, as if they put Woods’ name down out of habit. At this point, events with Woods aren’t competition, they’re performance. If you’re there and he’s there, you know exactly what you’re getting. It’s like a Bruce Springsteen or Sade concert.

When he came to the first tee Sunday morning he trailed third-round co-leaders Andrew Buckle and Brandt Snedeker by two strokes and Kevin Sutherland by one. Yet the onlookers weren’t wondering if Woods would take the lead, they were guessing on which hole it would happen.

It turned out to be the 13th. Woods had three birdies and a bogey in the first eight holes, then made a 26-foot eagle putt on the ninth to tie Buckle for the lead. Buckle birdied his next two holes but gave it back with a double-bogey on No. 12, setting the stage for Woods to win with birdies on Nos. 13 and 17.

It didn’t hurt that Buckle and Snedeker were PGA Tour rookies and Sutherland is ranked 256th in the world.

You can tell Buckle and Snedeker are new to this because they aren’t sick of hearing questions about Woods. When Buckle found out that Woods wouldn’t be in his group for the final round, he said, “Beautiful.” Snedeker reported that Woods said hello to him at the putting green Saturday, an event he called “pretty phenomenal.”

Too bad Snedeker couldn’t use the same words to describe his final three rounds. After opening with a 61 to get to 11 under par, he improved by only one more stroke over the final 54 holes.

Snedeker said the lesson he learned was: “Take advantage of opportunities better. You see Tiger do it time and time again.”

(Something else Snedeker said, when an event official asked him where he wanted to go next: “I’ve got to sign autographs. I’ve been avoiding it all week. Gotta do it.” Then he pulled out a Sharpie and went over to the waiting fans. I like this guy.)

Back to Woods. When the tournaments are there, he’s always the one doing the taking. That really is what separates him from players like Snedeker and Buckle, and even those like Singh and Mickelson.

“It’s just fun to be there,” Woods said. “That’s why you bust your butt as hard as you do in practice sessions to get yourself in that position. And when you do, I feel comfortable being there. I’ve been there enough times.”

So he didn’t sweat it when his tee shots went into fairway bunkers on hole Nos. 1, 5, 7 and 18.

He showed no fear when he needed to get up and down from greenside bunkers on 14 and 15, with playing partner Charles Howell III filling Woods’ rear-view mirror thanks to three birdies in four holes.

Woods all but clinched this thing on the 17th hole, when he hit a five-wood 300 yards down the middle of the fairway, then lifted a nine-iron 143 yards to within three feet of the cup for a birdie putt. That gave him a two-shot lead over Howell.

Howell’s on good enough terms with Woods to tease him that he should let someone else win for a change.

“He just sort of gives me that sheepish laugh,” Howell said. “Which means, ‘No.’ ”

Howell says he can’t even beat Woods during their friendly rounds at Isleworth Country Club in Florida.

In an informal session with reporters, someone wondered whether Woods would ever let Howell win. His tone grew temporarily icy.

“No,” Woods said. “Why?”

When it comes to winning golf tournaments, this is who Woods is. This is what he does.

The scary news for Howell and the rest of the PGA is that Woods says he’s playing better than last year. His father’s death has replaced the lingering uncertainty of his father’s long-term illness, which has allowed Woods to concentrate on his job.

“I’ve been able to practice harder,” Woods said, whereas last year, “I’d rather spend time with Dad than practice.”

He repeated that last line twice for emphasis.

So now we can expect more of the same: Woods taking ceremonial walks up the 18th fairway, Woods receiving winner’s checks, Woods making speeches.

No, it’s not getting old. Do you ever get tired of going to your favorite restaurant? Woods sure isn’t tired of eating the rest of these guys for lunch.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande, go to latimes.com/adandeblog.