McDowell and Frenchman, Thomas Levet, ended the rain-hit tournament tied on 19 under par 197, and then halved three holes before returning to the 18th for the fourth play-off hole.

After Levet had found the water with his approach, McDowell was faced with a testing nine iron shot to the green and he produced a superb stroke, firing the ball over the pin to 15 feet from where two putts secured his second title on The European Tour International Schedule.

McDowell said: “This is a wonderful bonus to add to the title. It was a very important shot in the circumstances and it is nice that the stroke has been recognised by The Royal Bank of Scotland Award.”

Runner-up was the second shot to five feet for an eagle three played by South Africa’s Ernie Els on the par five 13th at Augusta National in the last round of the Masters Tournament to set up the thrilling finish with eventual champion Phil Mickelson.

Third was the 35 foot birdie putt by Miguel Angel Jiménez at the 16th hole in the final round of the Algarve Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos at Le Meridien Penina Golf & Resort, which gave him a one shot lead and provided the platform for him to go on and claim his second title of the year.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Shot of the Month Award, in association with The European Tour, Sky Sports and Golf Weekly, is presented to the Tour Member for the shot judged to be the most outstanding played during each calendar month on The European Tour International Schedule. In November 2004, the winning shots from each month will be entered towards The Royal Bank of Scotland Shot of the Year Award.

Previous winners during the 2004 season have been Trevor Immelman of South Africa (December/January), Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee (February) and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (March).

Courtesy of www.europeantour.com