Howell and fellow countryman, Paul Casey, were one down with two holes to play against Americans Chad Campbell and Jim Furyk in the Saturday morning fourball session at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Detroit, Michigan.

Howell then proceeded to strike a nerveless six iron from 203 yards to within five feet of the hole and rolled in the putt for a birdie two to square the match. The Europeans then won the final hole to secure a victory which proved pivotal in the outcome of the Matches.

At one point, the Europeans were in danger of losing the session 4-0 but fought back to end the morning 1 ½ - 2 ½ and the point supplied by Casey and Howell was hailed by their team-mates as the inspiration to go on and win the afternoon foursomes session 3-1.

Howell said: “At the time, Paul and I were only concerned with trying to get something from the match after Chad holed a long putt on the 16th. We would probably have accepted a half after being one down with two to play but to get a full point was, in hindsight, very important in the context of that day’s play.

“I knew my tee shot at the 17th needed to be a good one and in all honesty it wasn’t the purest strike of my life. However it went dead straight and released nicely to within five feet. It was a great feeling to see the ball so close to the hole and even better to make the putt to square the match.”

The first three places in the September Awards were filled by exquisite shots from The Ryder Cup. In second place was Irishman Darren Clarke’s delicate chip-in at the 17th hole of his singles tie with Davis Love III, in which he recovered from two down with three to play to secure a half.

Colin Montgomerie of Scotland took third place with his wonderfully imaginative chip through the greenside rough to a matter of inches in his opening fourball match with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington against Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

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. 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), Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (March), Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (April), Barry Lane of England (May), South Africa’s Retief Goosen (June), Thomas Levet of France (July) and Ian Poulter of England (August).

Courtesy of www.europeantour.com