Howell grabs maiden US Tour victory

GOLF: Charles Howell III claimed his first US PGA Tour win after holding off Brandt Jobe at the Michelob Championship on Sunday.

The tour's reigning Rookie of the Year erased a three-stroke deficit with a final round of four-under-par 67. The low round of the day at Kingsmill Golf Club left the wiry 23-year-old at 14-under-par 270.

Howell, who won the individual NCAA Championship at Oklahoma State in 2000, had finished in the top 10 just once in his previous 23 starts. His best finish on the tour was a runner-up showing at Milwaukee last season.

Also seeking his first PGA Tour victory, Jobe bogeyed two of the last three holes for a one-over 72. He began the day with the lead but had to settle for runner-up, tying with Scott Hoch at 12-under-par 272. n THREE-IN-A-ROW: Hale Irwin clinched the $1 million Charles Schwab Cup bonus with his third straight win at the Turtle Bay Championship, in Hawaii.

Irwin needed to finish no worse than fifth and have Bob Gilder place outside the top 10 to win the second Charles Schwab Cup annuity. He got both.

The all-time top winning player in Senior PGA Tour history, Irwin sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole to defeat Gary McCord at The Links at Turtle Bay Resort.

Irwin's triumph was his sixth in Hawaii and third in a row at Turtle Bay.

Jack Nicklaus is the only player to win the same Senior Tour event four consecutive years.

NINTH TITLE: Annika Sorenstam became the first LPGA Tour member in 24 years to win nine titles in a season after claiming the Samsung World Championship, in California.

Three days shy of her 32nd birthday, Sorenstam produced a typically dominant display to card a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 for a six-stroke victory over American Cristie Kerr.

The Swede's four-round total of 22-under-par 266 was the best on tour in relation to par this season.

It was Sorenstam's ninth win in 18 LPGA Tour starts this year. Only five players have won as many as nine events in a season, most recently Nancy Lopez in 1978.

One of Sorenstam's goals is to break the single-season record for wins set by Mickey Wright, who had 13 in 1963. Sorenstam has won three straight tour events and would have to claim the last five on the schedule.