Fowler Captures Playoff for First PGA Tour Victory CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Now when Rickie Fowler tees off before every PGA event, he will be introduced as a winner on tour. Fowler captured a three-man playoff Sunday that included Rory McIlroy, the world's new No. 1 player, to win the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Beyond the question of when Fowler would win came subtle reminders of his failure to have done so, as during each pre-round player introduction. Even before beginning the final round Sunday, Fowler waited while the tournament victories of his playing partner, Nick Watney, were recited. "You get guys who have won two, three, four times and they name the events, and then they say my name and I tee off," Fowler said. Now I've got the Wells Fargo Championship. It has been a long path for Fowler, 23, who is better known for his bright outfits, especially the orange pants and shirts he wears on Sundays of tournaments. Fowler has finished second four times on tour but broke free Sunday with an aggressive approach shot on the first playoff hole that allowed him to birdie it and beat McIlroy and D. A. Points. Fowler finished with a 4-foot putt, then added a controlled fist pump to celebrate his performance. "Definitely relief, satisfaction," Fowler said of the emotions of winning, which also earned him a spot in next year's Masters. "There's a lot of people that have doubted or said, "You'll never win," " Fowler said. So it's nice to kind of shut them up a little bit. He smiled as he said it. Fowler got a chance to win when Points, who had gone without a bogey in his last 40 holes, bogeyed No. Points's approach shot landed in a bunker right of the hole and he two-putted. That dropped him to 14-under-par 274, joining McIlroy, his playing partner, who parred the hole, and Fowler, who had finished in the group ahead with that same score. Fowler shot a three-under 69 that included six birdies and three bogeys. All three teed off on the 18th again to begin the playoff. The difference proved to be Fowler's second shot: he was 133 yards from the hole and hit to 4 feet. "The shot he hit was spectacular," Points said. It was a gamble, Fowler acknowledged. "I definitely didn't want to play safe," he said. I had a good number, and I was aiming right of the hole with the wind coming out of the right, and if I hit a perfect shot, it comes down right on the stick. He also said he knew if he did not hit it right, the shot could have landed in a creek. "Playing against those two guys, I know that they're going to make birdie at some point, and I don't want to sit there and try and make pars and stay in it," said Fowler, whose victory was worth $1,170,000. Fowler said the spark for his victory actually came in Friday's second round, when he struggled and shot a par-72. "I sat back and made sure I got a lot out of the round on Friday, whereas times before I may have gotten a little bit more frustrated and tried to push a little too hard and ended up shooting 76 when I pulled out a 72," Fowler said. Fowler entered Sunday three strokes behind the leader, Webb Simpson, the local favorite who lives about a mile from Quail Hollow. Simpson shot a 73, missing a 23-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have put him in the playoff. McIlroy could not duplicate the course-record 62 he used to win this event in 2010. Instead, he shot a 70, hurt by a bogey on the 17th hole that dropped him one shot behind Points. McIlroy, though, said it was a "sloppy bogey" at the 11th hole that left him most disappointed. Even so, McIlroy's runner-up finish let him pass Luke Donald to regain the world's No. 1 ranking. McIlroy said that was "little consolation. "I would rather win the tournament," he said. I want to try and play well for the next few weeks and try and solidify my spot there at No. 1 and hopefully start by doing that next week and giving myself another chance to win. This week at the Players Championship, Fowler will finally get to be introduced as a tournament winner. MOLINARI WINS IN SPAIN Francesco Molinari shot a seven-under 65 to win the Spanish Open in Seville by three strokes, becoming the first Italian to capture the European Tour event. Molinari finished at eight-under 280 in the 100th edition of the tournament for his third victory on the tour. He entered the final round four strokes behind the leader, Simon Dyson of England, who shot a 76 and tied for 12th. Molinari was followed by the Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal (71) and Alejandro Canizares (69) and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen (69). Matteo Manassero (70) of Italy tied for seventh. He will have to wait until Monday's rankings to see if he moved back into the top 60 to qualify for the United States Open next month. Monday is the one-year anniversary of the death of Seve Ballesteros, who won this tournament three times. "It's a very special time to win in Spain," Molinari said. FUNK WINS ON CHAMPIONS TOUR Fred Funk birdied the final hole to edge Tom Lehman and win the Champions Tour's Insperity Championship at the Woodlands, Tex. Tied with one hole left, Funk hit his approach on No. 18 to 2 feet. Lehman missed his birdie putt, and Funk tapped in. It was his seventh victory on the senior tour, but his first since 2010. He finished with a five-under 67 for a 14-under 202 total. Lehman closed with a 68. With his 16-year-old son, Taylor, carrying his bag, Funk birdied four of the last five holes to win on the course where he won the Houston Open in 1992 for the first of his eight victories on the regular tour.