Sweet 16th for Tiger

The battle was everything Tiger Woods expected. The finish was nothing anyone imagined, except for Woods hoisting another World Golf Championship trophy at Firestone.

Woods was in trouble in the trees on the famous par-5 16th hole, one shot behind Padraig Harrington, trying to figure out how he could squeeze out a victory Sunday in the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

He delivered another signature moment, this one an 8-iron from 178 that wound up a foot from the hole for birdie. Moments later, with an official timing his every shot, Harrington rushed his way into a stunning meltdown. He hit five straight shots without losing his turn, made triple bogey and became a mere bystander on the final two holes as Woods won for the 70th time in his career.

Woods closed with a 5-under 65, becoming the first player in PGA Tour history to win seven times on the same golf course and giving him back-to-back victories going into the PGA Championship, his last chance to win a major this year.

Woods won it with an 8-iron that was pure theater.

“When I hit it, I knew it was going to be a good one,” he said. “I thought it was going to be just a little bit past the hole. I was surprised it spun that much considering it was that much downwind. But it came back and ended up a kick-in.”

He believes Harrington lost it with a stopwatch that was unnecessary.

They were timed earlier in the round, then told by John Paramor, the PGA European Tour’s chief referee, they were on the clock on the 16th tee, with Harrington in the lead by one shot. Knowing he had no time to contemplate his escape from the trees, the collar of a bunker and a dicey flop shot behind the green, he turned the hole known as “The Monster” into an utter mess.

The pivotal play was his fourth shot behind the green, which came out hot and into the water.

“I had an awkward fourth shot,” Harrington said. “I had to go after it and probably rushed that a bit. That was the end of that.”

Harrington told Woods when it was over, “We’ll do battle many times again.”

Woods, who holds the three-time major champion in high esteem, looked forward to that.

“Like I was telling him out there, ‘I’m sorry that John got in the way of a great battle,’ because it was such a great battle for 16 holes,” Woods said. “We’re going at it, head-to-head, and unfortunately that happened. Paddy and I will definitely do it again.”

Asked if he won because of an 8-iron or a stopwatch, Woods replied, “Both.”

Paramor said the final pairing was 17 minutes behind schedule on the 16th hole and “we had no choice but to put them on the clock.”

The dispute clouded an otherwise remarkable rally for Woods, who won his 16th title in just 30 starts in the World Golf Championships series, and picked up a lot of momentum headed to Hazeltine.

Woods, who has won the Bridgestone Invitational seven times in 10 starts and has never finished out of the top five, closed out his remarkable afternoon in style with a 6-foot birdie putt.

His fifth victory this year and 70th of his PGA Tour career put him three behind Jack Nicklaus, and 12 victories away from the all-time record held by Sam Snead.

“We locked horns pretty good,” Woods said. “I made a couple of mistakes. Paddy was being consistent, grinding it out, doing all the right things. Unfortunately, 16 happened. But it was a great battle all day.”

Reno-Tahoe Open

John Rollins overcame an early double bogey with a chip-in eagle, then survived a string of bogeys to shoot an even-par 72 and win the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in Reno, Nev., for his third career PGA Tour victory.

Rollins, who tied the course record with a second-round 62 and led by six strokes at the turn Sunday, won by three strokes, finishing at 17-under 271 on the Montreux Golf & Country Club course.

Martin Laird made a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th to shoot a 66 and tie for second with Jeff Quinney, who also shot a 66 on the strength of six birdies. Joe Ogilvie (71) was fourth at 13 under.

It was the first time in six attempts Rollins has won after leading through 54 holes.

Nationwide Tour

Chris Tidland made a 20-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory over Dave Schultz and Chad Collins in the Wichita (Kan.) Open

Tidland, the 36-year-old former Oklahoma State player who won the 2008 Boise Open for his only other Nationwide Tour title, closed with a 6-under 65 for a 16-under 268 total on the Crestview Country Club course.

Tidland earned $99,000 to jump from ninth to second on the money list with $293,680, with the top 25 at the end of the season earning 2010 PGA Tour cards.

He has two second-place finishes this year, including a playoff loss in Fort Smith, Ark.

Spokane’s Alex Prugh tied for ninth, winning $13,750.

Women’s Amateur

Jennifer Song became the second woman to win two U.S. Golf Association championships in the same year, beating Jennifer Johnson 3 and 1 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur final at Old Warson in St. Louis.

Song, 19, coming off her freshman year at Southern California, won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links winner in June and was the low amateur last month in the U.S. Women’s Open. Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., she lives in South Korea.

Pearl Sinn is the only other woman to win two USGA titles in a year, taking the 1988 Amateur and Public Links. Five men have accomplished the feat.

Johnson, 17, from La Quinta, Calif., will be a freshman at Arizona State.