England's David Howell has won his first title in six years, shooting a seven-under 65 to hold off two-time major winner John Daly by a stroke at the BMW International Open.

The American missed a 6-foot birdie attempt at the last hole that would have caught the Ryder Cup player to finish with a 64.

Daly tied for second with Australia's Brett Rumford, who shot a 65.

"I'm delighted to finally win. I just tried to be aggressive - I knew the other guys wouldn't back down," Howell said.

It was Howell's second title after the Dubai Classic in 1999, playing just his third event since a stomach injury caused a two-month layoff.

Twice in May, he lost playoffs, and on the 16th hole he nearly lost his lead. A short par putt spun around the cup, bounced up and then fell back in.

"I got a little bit of jitters. I've made a mess of things before," Howell said.

"But that's the difference today. This time the ball did the lap of honour and dropped in."

Howell matched birdies on the back nine with 2001 champion Daly. On the 14th, he pulled a stroke clear.

Daly said he and Rumford kept glancing at the scoreboard as they dropped birdies on the 10th, 13th and 14th holes. Each time, they were matched by Howell.

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