Wells Fargo Championship 2012: Rickie Fowler Defeats McIlroy, Points In Playoff

A busy and fluctuating leaderboard on the final day of the Wells Fargo Championship gave way to a three-player playoff, and finished with a young golfer earning his first professional victory on American soil.

After finishing 14 under-par through 72 holes, Rickie Fowler defeated Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points in just one hole of a sudden death playoff to cap off an excellent weekend of golf at Charlotte’s Quail Hollow.

Replaying the 18th to begin the playoff, McIlroy outdrove Fowler and Points by roughly 20 yards using only a three-wood, leaving a short approach shot and the best chance of securing victory as all three golfers stood in the fairway.

But Fowler swung the balance of power with a tremendous second shot, sticking an attack wedge within six feet of the pin, while McIlroy pushed his approach shot well right of the flag.

From there, McIlroy and Points missed difficult birdie putts, setting the stage for the 23-year old Fowler steal the victory, and capture his first career PGA Tour victory.

Webb Simpson, who led the tournament after three rounds, finished 13 under and missed a hard breaking birdie putt on the final hole of his round, eliminating him from playoff contention.

This was the second consecutive year that the Wells Fargo Championship was decided by a sudden death playoff. In 2011, Lucas Glover defeated Jonathan Byrd.

With his tied-for-first finish after 72 holes, McIlroy re-claimed the No. 1 World Golf Ranking from Luke Donald.

Next week, the tour heads to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for The Players Championship at TPC - Sawgrass.