Faxon wins Buick Championship in playoff

CROMWELL, Conn. — Brad Faxon rolled in a 3-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Sunday to win the Buick Championship over Tjaart van der Walt, his first victory since 2001.

Faxon tied the course record in regulation with a 9-under 61, a personal best for the 44-year-old. Faxon, who made the 36-hole cut on the number, won $774,000 for his eighth PGA Tour victory.

Van der Walt shot a 64 Sunday and birdied the final two holes to tie Faxon at 14-under 266 and force a playoff back to the 434-yard par-4 18th.

Faxon drove into the left fairway bunker and had 169 yards to the hole and stuck his 7-iron approach 3 feet from the cup. Van der Walt, unflappable all week at the TPC at River Highlands, drove it right down the middle to within 134 yards. His approached banged off the flagstick and rolled just over nine feet from the cup. The players high-fived each other as they walked up the 18th fairway to an ovation.

Van der Walt pushed his birdie putt right, then Faxon rolled his in for the win.

Justin Rose (69) began the day with a four-stroke lead at 12 under, but never made a move until late in the day. He birdied two of the last four holes to finish one stroke out of the playoff.

Former British Open winner Ben Curtis (69), Jerry Kelly (77) and NCAA runner-up Michael Putnam (63) finished in a tie for fourth at 12 under.

BMW Open

NORD-EICHENRIED, Germany — David Howell won his first title in six years, shooting a 7-under 65 to hold off John Daly by a stroke at the BMW International Open.

Daly closed with a 64 and missed a 6-foot birdie attempt on the last hole that would have caught the Ryder Cup player.

Howell finished at 23-under 265 on one of the European tour's easiest courses. Daly and Brett Rumford (65) shared second, while Niclas Fasth (64) and Soren Kjeldsen (66) were at 267.

Champions Tour

ALOHA, Ore. — Loren Roberts bogeyed the second playoff hole but still won The Tradition, beating Dana Quigley, who double-bogeyed the par-4 and failed again to win his first major.

Quigley's 3 1/2-foot putt for bogey on No. 17 at the Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club lipped out, while Roberts' fell.

Both players had trouble with their second shots on the second playoff hole.

Roberts' rolled far past the hole and the signature bunker in the middle of the green. Quigley's hit a rake near a greenside bunker and stayed right on the edge.

Roberts chipped on the green for his third shot, while Quigley was forced into an awkward stance with one foot in the bunker and the other teetering on the lip. Neither was close and both missed long par putts.

U.S. Amateur

ARDMORE, Pa. — Italy's Edoardo Molinari made a 25-foot birdie putt at the 33rd hole to beat American Dillon Dougherty 4 and 3 and win the U.S. Amateur championship at Merion Golf Club.

Molinari joined Charles ''Chick'' Evans (1916), Bobby Jones (1924, '30), Gary Cowan (1966) and Chris Patton (1989) as amateur champions at Merion, which hosted its 17th U.S. Golf Association championship.

The finalists earned an invitation to next year's Masters and U.S. Open, and, as the winner, Molinari gets a return trip to the British Open, where he finished 60th this year at St. Andrews.

LPGA Tour

DUBLIN, Ohio — Cristie Kerr won the Wendy's Championship for Children, closing with a 3-under 69 after Pat Hurst fell from a tie for the lead with a double-bogey on the last hole. This was Kerr's second victory of the year and sixth of her career. She finished at 18-under 270, one shot ahead of Paula Creamer and Annika Sorenstam. Creamer, the third-round leader, had a 71 and Sorenstam a 66, matching the day's low round.