MILAN, Italy, May 3 (UPI) -- Graeme McDowell defeated Thomas Levet on the fourth playoff hole Monday and secure his second European Tour victory in the rain-plagued Italian Open.
The Northern Irishman finally outdid the Frenchman, who paid the price for finding the water with his approach on the 18th hole after the two had matched one another shot for shot in a playoff that lasted almost an hour.
In the end, McDowell had two putts to claim the $160,000 top prize. He knocked in the winning putt from inches to claim what he later described as his first "professional" victory.
The 24-year-old from Portrush followed up his first European Tour success, which came at the 2002 Scandinavian Masters.
"To win in Scandinavia as quickly as I did, I still felt I was an amateur," he said. "Right now, I feel like a professional. It feels like my first professional victory."
