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Maruyame beats Howell in playoff

Shigeki Maruyama birdied the first playoff hole Sunday to defeat Charles Howell and capture the Greater Milwaukee Open.

Maruyama posted a five-under 66 on Sunday to finish tied with Howell at 18- under-par 266. The 22-year-old Howell birdied six of his final seven holes for a final-round 64.

Maruyama teed off first in the playoff at the par-five 18th and roped his drive down the fairway while Howell badly hooked his tee shot into the left rough. Howell was forced to lay up with his second after Maruyama blew his second over the green.

Howell hit a lob-wedge with his third and missed the green short, in between a bunker and the flag. He chipped his fourth well short as Maruyama pitched his third shot five feet left of the hole.

Howell, the 2000 NCAA individual champion from Oklahoma State, missed his par save right. Maruyama, with two putts to win, drained the birdie putt to title for the first time since the 1999 Bridgestone Open in Japan.

"This is one of my dreams since I started playing golf," Maruyama relayed through an interpreter. "I am really pleased to achieve my goal."

"Shigeki is a great player," Howell said. "He's probably one of the nicest guys out here. He's always smiling. But now he's obviously got a reason to smile."

Maruyama earned his first win on the PGA Tour and became the first Japanese player to title on the United States mainland. Isao Aoki was the first Japanese player to win on the U.S. tour when he holed a fairway shot for eagle on the final hole at the 1983 Hawaiian Open.

J.P. Hayes and Tim Herron shared third place at 15-under par.

Blaine McCallister (66), K.J. Choi (66), Brent Geiberger (67), Kenny Perry (70) and Harrison Frazar (70) tied for fifth place at minus-14.

In regulation, Howell missed the green short with his second shot at 18 but nearly holed a putt from the fringe for eagle. He tapped in for birdie to match Maruyama at 18-under par.

Maruyama tried to move his second shot right-to-left on the closing hole but the ball stayed right and landed in the grandstands next to the green. He received a free drop and pitched it 18 feet past the hole. Maruyama's attempt for victory came up three feet short but he sank the par save to force the playoff.

"It's not baseball, but I still hit one into the stands," said Maruyama, who pocketed $558,000 for the win.

It looked like there would be no dramatic finish on Sunday after Maruyama distanced himself on the front nine. He birdied the fourth hole to grab the lead for the first time and added an eight-foot birdie at six.

At the eighth, Maruyama holed a seven-iron approach from 173 yards for eagle. He played a spectacular approach from behind a tree at No. 10 to four feet to set up birdie and take a three-shot lead into the final eight holes.

Maruyama nearly pulled his six-iron tee shot at 11 into water but found the back of a greenside bunker. He had a bad lie and an even worse stance and left his second shot in the sand. Maruyama blasted out to three feet and made bogey.

He made only one birdie the rest of the way, a three-foot putt at the par-five 15th.

Howell finished with an amazing birdie run. He holed a 10-footer at 12 followed by a 15-footer at the next hole. He birdied 15 and 16 then played an eight-iron to four feet at 17 to set up his seventh birdie.

"I didn't know if I had a chance to win," said Howell, who posted his third top-10 finish of the season. "But I tried to make as many birdies as I could to put some pressure on him."

Third-round leader Jeff Sluman bogeyed two holes on his front nine and parred every hole on the back for a one-over 72. He dropped into a tie for 10th at 13-under-par 271.

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