Howell Edges Uihlein in Dunhill Links Championship


After tying third-round leader Peter Uihlein in regulation, England's David Howell sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the second sudden-death playoff hole to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The European Tour event was completed Sunday at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Howell closed with a 5-under 67 to tie Uihlein, who shot a 69, at 23-under 265. Both players parred the first playoff before Howell sealed his first victory since the 2006 HSBC Champions. His latest title was worth $800,000.

"To nail that birdie putt to win is pretty sweet," the 38-year-old said. "I was 0-5 in playoffs so I felt as though I deserved one.

"All week I was nervous, I can't explain why. We all know it's a big week and we've all got lots to play for, but today I found a little more inner strength," added Howell. "I still struggled a little bit to get the pace on the greens under the intense pressure and all in all, I was really pleased with how I stayed in control and kept controlling my swing and holed the ones that I had to right at the end. It's been an interesting seven years. I lost my way in life and on the course, as well, but now things are really good at the moment and I'm in a really happy place."

"Hats off to David, (he) played great, made a nice birdie," said Uihlein, who with his runner-up finish moved to 10th on the Race to Dubai. "He made more putts than I did at the end of the day."

Tom Lewis (64) and Shane Lowry (68) tied for third at 266, while another stroke back was Tommy Fleetwood (67).

The victory by Howell moves him into the world's top 100 and to 12th in the Race to Dubai. "It's a dream to be back in the big time, as it's been a long, long road from the depths of despair to get here today," he said.

For all the scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013076/leaderboard/index.html.