ORLANDO, Fla. — Firing his black golf hat to the ground, Tiger Woods let out a roar after watching his 25-foot birdie putt disappear into the 18th hole yesterday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one shot over Bart Bryant.

It was Woods' record fifth win at Bay Hill and his fifth consecutive PGA Tour title, cranking the volume on a drumbeat of speculation he could win every time he plays this season.

The win was his 16th in his past 25 Tour events and his 64th on Tour in 11-plus seasons, tying him with Ben Hogan for third on the all-time victory list. Only Sam Snead (82) and Jack Nicklaus (73) are ahead.

"I need to see the highlights," said Woods, who didn't realize he threw his hat. "I was so into the moment of the putt going in and winning the golf tournament."

Woods, who made up seven shots on the weekend, shot a final-round 66 to finish at 10-under 270. Bryant closed with a 67 for second.

Woods, who also beat Phil Mickelson with a 15-foot birdie on the last hole here in 2001, will be the heavy favorite to extend his winning streak this week at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral in Miami.

"You know, it didn't surprise me one bit," Bryant said of Woods' winning putt. "You've still got to chuckle, even though you're not surprised.

"What are you going to do? It was in his hands, and obviously he hit a good shot and a great putt. He has a habit of making it when he needs to. That's why Tiger is Tiger. The Tiger we saw the last two days is pretty strong."

Woods' winning putt was the longest he made all week and the only one in 21 attempts he made over 18 feet all week.

He has now won 43 of 46 Tour events in which he held a share or the outright lead after 54 holes.

"I think true golf fans who understand the game understand the magnitude of what they're seeing," Bryant said. "I think the golf public in general doesn't get it. Because what he's doing right now, I mean, you can't even fathom it. You can't explain it. It's just incredible."

Woods made up seven shots and exacted a bit of revenge on Bryant, who has earned a reputation as a bit of a Tiger tamer.

It was Bryant, after all, who steamrolled Woods, the rest of the field and East Lake to win the 2005 Tour Championship, six shots ahead of runner-up Woods. Bryant also won the Memorial that year with Woods finishing third.

That was then. This is now.

"There's no way I could have ever dreamt I would be here right now," Woods said of tying Hogan's career mark. "Hopefully if I had a great career and it panned out over a number of years, I might get to that number, but certainly not this quick.

"It feels good, it really does. It's why you work all those tireless hours. It's why you get up at 0-dong-30 and log your miles, bust your tail in the gym.

"You do it to be in that position (on the last hole) to fail or succeed.

"Trust me, that's the rush, to be in that position."