"Eighteen-under-par and nine shots clear of third is never too bad," said Westwood, while Woods was also in upbeat mood despite missing a five-footer on the 18th in his closing four-under 68.
"Overall I felt like I've been hitting it well and it's just a matter of being patient," the American said.
Woods destroyed Molinari 4&3 in their Ryder Cup singles match last month but the Italian was streets ahead of the 14-times major winner on the tough Sheshan layout.
GREAT DAY
"It was a great day of golf for everyone and for the two of us, me and Lee," said Molinari, who partnered his brother Edoardo to win the World Cup at Mission Hills in 2009.
"I'm obviously amazed at the way I played. It was not easy to have the No. 1 player in the world trailing you by one shot. I just played really well, and behaved really well on the golf course. So just feels fantastic now."
Edoardo watched and applauded as his younger brother claimed victory on the 18th hole.
"I think the turning point was definitely on the 16th hole and the second shot I hit there. It put Lee under pressure and his chip was already difficult," added Molinari junior.
He said he would celebrate his win and birthday with a "few drinks on the plane" as he heads to his next tournament in Singapore.
Westwood was left ruing bad luck despite his outstanding performance.
"I hit a lot of good shots today and a couple of poor ones. I had a bit of bad luck. It's one of those things," he said.
Starting the final round a shot behind, Westwood needed to make up two on Molinari on the final hole and while the Italian opted to lay-up, the Englishman attacked the green on the par five.
"It was a little disappointing after hitting a five-iron into the last hole," he added.
"I can't believe it got up that slope from where it landed. I expected it to be running down like three or four feet. I just needed the breaks to win and didn't happen."
Westwood and Molinari, playing with England's Luke Donald in the final group, put on a show for the packed galleries, matching one another shot-for-shot as the sun set after a late start due to a thick morning fog-smog mix.
The final leaderboard had a heavy British presence, with Donald and Scotland's Richie Ramsay finishing joint third on nine under, and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy fifth a shot further back.
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