It seems Tiger Woods has a nickname for David Howell. He refers to him simply as "Cool Dude". Given the way Howell annexed the BMW Championship at Wentworth yesterday with the biggest winning margin on tour this season, it seems an appropriate monicker for the laid-back Englishman with an assassin's ruthlessness.

This was as impressive a performance as any in the long history of the PGA, the tour's flagship tournament. On this form, and in this mindset, who knows where destiny will ultimately lead? To majors, perhaps?

"This win is as big as it comes on the European Tour. I'm absolutely delighted. It's not something I've particularly dreamed of, (because) I guess I never really think great things are going to happen to me. I've overwhelmed," said Howell.

Standing on the first tee in front of the Wentworth Club shortly before two o'clock yesterday, a look at the giant leaderboard to the left of the first fairway confirmed Howell's grip on the tournament, that it was his to lose rather than for others to win. And, with a closing round 69 for 271, 17-under, Howell eventually finished five shots clear of Simon Khan, with Miguel Angel Jimenez a stroke back in third.

On a day thankfully bereft of any inclement weather, but with placing still in operation on fairways sodden by the heavy rain of the previous days, Howell proved to be the true king of the fairways. In claiming his second title of the season, having fended off Woods down the stretch of the HSBC in Shanghai, the winning cheque for €708,330 reaffirmed his status at the top of the European Tour money list and moved him to the top of the European Ryder Cup points list.

Howell was immune from any of the course's idiosyncrasies. Some, most notably Nick Dougherty and Jean Van de Velde, struggled, with final rounds of 78 and 79 respectively, and others blossomed, with Brett Rumford and Trevor Immelman leapfrogging a host of players to finish fourth and tied-sixth respectively after rounds of 65. But the runaway leader simply kept out of trouble and away from pursuers who had thrown in the towel long before the end.

With three birdies in his opening five holes, Howell ensured that everyone else was playing for second best. He could even afford to finish with six successive pars, including failing to birdie either of the par fives at the 17th and 18th holes, to establish the biggest winning margin on tour this season, beating the four shots of Francesco Molinari at the Italian Open.

"Once I played 17 I knew I had it. I mean, you know someone can conceivably finish 3-3 on those last two holes. If you make seven on 17, all of a sudden things are different. That's the way you've got to think.

"So, once I got to the 17th green, I was able to relax. It was the ideal scenario, and that's exactly what you dream of so you can enjoy the walk down the last hole."

For the 30-year-old follower of Swindon Town Football Club, this win - and the manner of it - puts him on to a new level. When the world rankings are released today, he is expected to have risen to a career-high 10th. Still, Howell is fundamentally modest.

"I don't see myself as the best player in Europe. I see myself as one of a bunch, but I'm not intimidated by anyone. I play with Darren Clarke every week at Queenwood and he takes a hundred pounds off me."

Whether he admits it or not, Howell has moved to a new level. He has won almost twice as much as Paul Casey, the second placed player in the Order of Merit.

"One of my goals this year is to win the Order of Merit. I've given myself a great chance of that now, and that's something I never really dreamed of. Two or three years ago the guys winning the Order of Merit titles seemed to be in different stratospheres than where I was. I guess I've worked my way somewhere close."

The obvious next step is to contend at majors, where he has a career-best finish of 11th at last year's US Masters. Otherwise, it is pretty grim reading. He has made the cut only twice in seven appearances in the British Open (his best finish was 42nd at Royal Birkdale in 1998), he has never made a cut at the US Open and his best finish in the US PGA was 45th in 2004.

"I've never been one to get ahead of myself in my career, but I'm in a position now where if I was to pitch up at any one of the four majors and play great every day, I'd probably have a chance to win.

"Obviously that's the difficult bit, playing great every day, and then you need the luck of the draw that someone like Tiger doesn't play great every day as well. But, you know, right now, my golf is good enough to get me in the right position."

He's headed in the right direction.