Tiger Woods was upset by rules officials at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational having overhauled Padraig Harrington to win the elite tournament for a record seventh time.

Woods, the world No.1, effectively sealed victory with a birdie at the 16th after he and Harrington had been put on the clock for slow play.

The Irishman's bid for a first title in 12 months on either the PGA or European Tours unravelled there as he ran up a triple-bogey 8 having hit his fourth shot into water.

The resulting four-shot swing ended a great duel between the players at Firestone Country Club.

Although Woods accepted his fine third shot from 178 yards to eight feet put the pressure back on Harrington, he slammed European Tour chief referee John Paramor for his decision to put them on the clock.

"I'm sorry John got in the way of a great battle because it was such a great battle for 16 holes," said Woods. "We're going at it head-to-head, and that happened.

"I think being on the clock influenced him Harrington. I'm sure he would have taken a lot more time on his third shot to try to figure out how to play it, where to place the next one."

While on the clock, players must play their shots within an allocated time or risk an initial warning followed by a $5,000 fine and a one-shot penalty for a second offence.

Paramor defended his decision, saying: "Padraig and Tiger's group were 13 minutes over time through 11 holes.

"We could have put them on the clock at the 13th hole but decided to cut them a bit of slack."

Glasgow golfer Martin Laird carded a closing round of 69 for a share of second place with American Jeff Quinney behind local winner John Rollins in the Reno-Tahoe Open, Rollins winning by three shots.

Laird had finished fourth in the event last year.