ORLANDO, Fla. – Move over Mr. Hogan. Fore, please, Mr. Nicklaus. Look out Mr. Snead.

Tiger Woods took the next step up the golf immortality podium and further burnished his reputation and legend — as if that’s possible at this point — with a heart-stopping one-stroke victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that was astonishing, extraordinary and astonishingly ho-hum.

Woods, the No. 1 player in the world and now tied for No. 3 on the PGA Tour all-time victory list, sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole and captured his fifth straight PGA Tour victory and fifth win at Palmer’s Bay Hill Club. The achievement gave Woods his 64th Tour title, tying him with Ben Hogan.

Only Jack Nicklaus with 73 and Sam Snead with 82 have more.

“To have 64 wins in this short of a span is a phenomenal feeling,” said Woods, 32, who has played in 233 events over 12-plus seasons, including three this year, all wins. “It feels really, really good to put in the work and get that validation.”

Only he would he know.

After struggling with his swing for two days, Woods played impeccable golf to submit a closing 4-under-par 66 and 10-under 270 total to thwart Bart Bryant’s upset bid.

“I tried to put the pressure on him, making some pars down the stretch,” Bryant said with shrug. “That’s why he’s Tiger Woods. He just has a way of pulling off the shot or the putt when he needs to.”

The No. 1 player in the world did not begin the tournament throwing his best stuff at the competition. He was missing it both ways for two days and found himself seven strokes behind Vijay Singh after 36 holes. He managed to polish his action enough to eliminate one side on Saturday in carding a 66. And when the field came back to him, he was poised to eliminate everyone, given that he was sporting a 42-3 record when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

It took him all day to finally shed Bryant, but it ended the way Woods preferred it to end, not just in the result, but in how it unfolded and who had the final say, good or bad.

“I have to say it’s knowing that you have an opportunity to end the tournament and it’s in your hands,” he said. “It’s not in anyone else’s. Whether you do it or not remains to be seen, and it’s like having the ball with a few seconds to go; do you want it or not want it. I would much rather have it in my hands than anyone else’s.”

Typically, he ended up with the trophy in his hands. He wasn’t surprised, but he was pleased.

“I can always draw upon the experiences I’ve had in the past,” he said. “I’ve done it a lot of ways and in different ways and at different levels, and it’s reassuring when you get in a situation where you have to hit the shots to win the tournament.”

Next up is the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral Resort and Spa in Miami, where he was won the last three years. Oh, yeah, he’s been there before at this venue too. He’ll have that experience to draw upon.

Fore please, Mr. Nicklaus.