Los Angeles, February 19:

Charles Howell III finally ended that nasty habit of finishing second, making three clutch pars in a playoff that delivered a dramatic victory over Phil Mickelson in the Nissan Open on Sunday.

Howell closed with a 6-under 65 and got into a playoff when Mickelson bogeyed the 18th. Howell put away the two-time Masters champion with his third straight par save, holing a 3-foot putt on the 14th hole.

It was only the second career victory, and Howell had been haunted by nine runner-up finishes since winning the now-defunct Michelob Championship in 2002. He already had two runner-up finishes in four starts this year, including three weeks ago against Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines.

Mickelson, bidding for his second straight US PGA Tour victory, had control throughout the playoff until coming up short of the green on the par-3 14th. He opted for putter, but it took a high hop leaving the blade and stopped 10 feet short. The par putt missed to the right.

Ernie Els (67), Jim Furyk (67) and Robert Allenby (68) tied for third, three shots out of the playoff. Els and Allenby both had chances to catch Mickelson along the back nine, but the Big Easy was tripped up by three bogeys, while Allenby fell back with a three-putt at the 15th.

Howell earned $936,000 and is atop the tour money list for the first time in his career. Aside from finally getting his hands on another trophy, Howell accomplished his first goal of 2007. The victory all but assures he can return to the Masters in April because the Augusta player will climb into top 25 in the world ranking.