Phil Long / AP

Tiger Woods, left, shakes hands with Padraig Harrington after the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. Woods shot a 5-under 65, while Harrington struggled to a 2-over 72.

He hit his approach into the par-5 second hole just over the bunkers to 25 feet to make eagle, and two more birdies was enough for him to take the lead after only five holes. From the right rough on the ninth fairway — a rare miss on the front nine — Woods hit to 7 feet for a birdie that gave him a 30 on the outward nine and a two-shot lead.

Harrington, a three-time major champion with a tough mind, kept grinding away with pars and regained a share of the lead with his first birdie of the day on the 11th. And when Woods made consecutive bogeys, Harrington found himself with a one-shot lead heading for the homestretch.

What cost Harrington was his second shot from the trees, which he tried to land some 80 yards short of the green. Instead, he pulled the 5-iron to the grassy slope of the bunker, and had to decide quickly his next move after watching Woods stuff the 8-iron.

“It was a superb golf shot. It was a phenomenal shot,” Harrington said. “I struggled to hit that green with a lob wedge, so it was pretty impressive. But I was having my own troubles at that stage.”

From behind the green, the shot is all down hill toward the water. Harrington could have played sideways and assured himself of a bogey, but he figured a par was his chance to win the tournament.

“I just got it a little bit too much on the club face and didn’t get under it enough, and it came out too strong,” he said.

The four-shot swing was the tournament. For the first time all day, Woods finally felt in control.

Ultimately, the winner didn’t surprise anyone.

Hunter Mahan, who shot 66 and tied for fourth, looked up at the leaderboard early in his round and saw that Woods already had erased a three-shot deficit after four holes.

“That’s what he does,” Mahan said. “He could play this course left-handed and do well.”

A short time later, Camilo Villegas left the clubhouse and passed by the British-based Sky Sports broadcast crew watching on TV. Woods and Harrington were on the 12th hole.

“What are you watching for? You know what’s going to happen,” Villegas said with a smile.

The final hour was full of surprises, except for Woods winning at Firestone.