By ROY KAMMERER
Associated Press Writer
NORD-EICHENRIED, Germany
England's David Howell won his first title in six years Sunday, shooting a 7-under-par 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 Australia's Brett Rumford (65) shared second at 266, with Sweden's Niclas Fasth (64) and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen (66) at 267 and Ireland's Paul McGinley (66) at 268.
"I'm delighted to finally win," Howell said. "I just tried to be aggressive. I knew the other guys wouldn't back down."
Howell, who twice lost in playoffs in May, won his other title at the 1999 Dubai Classic. He earned his biggest payday, more than $400,000, and secured one of the 16 places in the World Match Play Championship.
On the 14th hole, Howell pulled ahead by a stroke. On the 16th, he nearly lost his lead when a short par putt spun around the cup, bounced up and fell back in.
"I got a little bit of jitters. I've made a mess of things before," Howell said. "But that's the difference today. This time the ball did the lap of honor and dropped in."
Daly, the 2001 champion and a two-time major winner, said he and Rumford kept glancing at the scoreboard as they made birdies on the 10th, 13th and 14th holes. Each time, Howell matched them.
"We just came up one short," Daly said. "Every time I hit a 10-footer, he would hit a 10-footer."
Daly started the round three strokes behind but jumped into contention with a ninth-hole eagle, set up by a 200-yard approach shot that slid past the cup. He had rounds of 68, 69, 65 and 64.
"I had a fantastic weekend of golf," he said. "Maybe I got started a little too late."
England's David Howell won his first title in six years Sunday, shooting a 7-under-par 65 to hold off John Daly by a stroke at the BMW International Open.