Fijian Singh managed to survive his struggles on the greens

Vijay Singh overcame some erratic putting to beat Lee Westwood by one shot and claim the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title in Ohio.

Singh, who shared the overnight lead with Westwood and Phil Mickelson, fired a final-round 68 to finish on 10 under.

He squandered an early two-stroke lead with an untidy run around the turn but held on to clinch his first WGC win.

Westwood closed with 69 to share second place with Australia's Stuart Appleby (68) while Mickelson faded into fourth.

I was kind of sweating out there. Towards the end, it got kind of shaky Vijay Singh

Singh, 45, who switched back to a belly putter last month, ended his longest stretch without winning a PGA Tour title in six years by sinking a crucial putt to par the last hole at Firestone to bring his 17-month drought to an end.

"I didn't want to leave that four-footer short," he said.

"I was kind of sweating out there. I just had to be comfortable over it. Towards the end, it got kind of shaky."

Overall, the Fijian missed four putts inside eight feet over the final 11 holes, but made the ones that mattered most - including a four-footer for par on the 17th to stay in the lead, and that final putt which avoided a play-off with Westwood and Appleby.

The final passage was disastrous for America's world number two Mickelson, who had a one-shot lead until he bogeyed three of his last four holes to end eight under with Retief Goosen.

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Singh, who had fallen out of the top 10 in the world during his drought, has now climbed back up to number four.

Westwood, who could have moved up to number four in the world with his first US title in 10 years, rallied from a five-shot deficit with 11 holes to play to get within one shot of the lead.

But the 35-year-old missed a seven-foot birdie chance on the 17th and a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th.

When I get into contention and play in the last group, I feel very comfortable out there now, Lee Westwood

"My distance control and my irons were good and I thought I handled the pressure pretty good," said Westwood, who climbs six places to 12th in the world.

"I know it's not easy to finish off around this golf course because a lot can happen on the back nine. They're not easy holes.

"I got 11 holes to pick five shots up and very nearly managed it. I've just got to sort of shake it off and start again. A blip is a blip."

Westwood missed out on the US Open play-off by one shot in June and will go into the final major of the year at Oakland Hills, near Detroit, on Thursday full of confidence.

"When I get into contention and play in the last group, I feel very comfortable out there now," Westwood said.

"I've got a routine I'm going through, and nothing phases me too much.

"I hit some nice shots under pressure over the last few holes.

"I've never really been one to give up out there. It's a World Golf Championship at the end of the day, and I was still in third spot, and Vijay could have dropped shots as well - and he ended up doing that. He was 12 at the time, and he won at 10 under.

"In those situations you've just got to grind it out and see what happens."

Mickelson was also determined to take positives into this week's USPGA, despite his poor finish.

"For fourteen holes I hit a lot of good shots. I should have shot 63 or 64," he said.

Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke ended in a tie for sixth on seven under with England's Paul Casey six under after a final-round 65.

Casey's countryman Ian Poulter finished two under, with two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington one under.