Winning with a sink and a prayer

Charles Howell made a playoff birdie for his first PGA win in 41/2 years.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Charles Howell III felt his heart leap when he realized only 3 feet of green stood between him and an improbable playoff victory over Phil Mickelson in the Nissan Open.
That's when he said a silent prayer.
Howell had gone 41/2 years and nine runner-up finishes since his lone PGA Tour victory. At almost every turn Sunday, he was confronted with so many of his past failures -- all the putts he missed, the 10th hole at Riviera that denied him victory in 2003, a chip that cost him last month in Honolulu.
He erased those memories with three clutch pars in the playoff, the last one on a solid chip to 3 feet and a putt that felt like a mile. Howell raised his head and closed his eyes in utter relief, and his voice cracked as he spoke about the winning putt.
"I said, 'God, if this is the time, then let's knock this in,' " Howell said, "and fortunately, it was."
Forcing the playoff
Four shots down at the turn, Howell closed with a 6-under 65 and scrambled in the longest playoff at Riviera in 25 years until Mickelson blinked first, missing a 10-foot par try on the par-3 14th.
"I had every chance on the back nine to create some separation and not give anyone a chance," said Mickelson, who twice missed putts inside 4 feet and closed with a 68. "I felt like I had the tournament in my grasp and let it go."
Coming off a five-shot victory at Pebble Beach where he tied a tournament scoring record, Mickelson was poised to get in the Riviera record books until he stumbled along the back nine. He missed a 2-foot par putt on the 13th, then misplayed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to fall into a share of the lead.
Needing a par to win, he came up short on the 18th and hit a pedestrian chip to 18 feet and took bogey.
"I had the tournament in control," Mickelson said. "It happens. It's part of the game."
They finished at 16-under 268.
Ernie Els (67), Jim Furyk (67) and Robert Allenby (68) tied for third, three shots out of the playoff.
At the top
Howell earned 936,000 and is atop the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his career.
"It's been a long time," Howell said. "I've always said Riviera was my favorite golf course other than Augusta National."
Now he can make plans for the Masters, the major about 5 miles down the road from where he was raised.
Howell likely will move into the top 25 in the world ranking, all but assuring his spot in the field.
And he got that bitter playoff loss out of his memory.
Four years ago, Howell lost a three-shot lead in the final round at Riviera, then hit a spectacular bunker shot on the 10th only to miss an 5-foot birdie putt and lose to Mike Weir.
Howell's putting was never better. He curled in an 8-footer for par on the 18th in regulation that kept the heat on Mickelson, and holed a 6-footer for par on No. 18 to extend the playoff.
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