McDowell wins World Challenge to end drought

• Graeme McDowell closed with a 4-under 68 to win by three shots
• It ends a drought for McDowell, who hadn't won anywhere since he won here in 2010
• Keegan Bradley was second, and Tiger Woods tied for fourth

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Attention, real estate agents in this upscale area: It might be a good idea to call Graeme McDowell.

The Northern Irishman closed with a 4-under-par 68 Sunday to win the World Challenge presented by Northwestern Mutual by three shots over Keegan Bradley (69) and by seven over Bo Van Pelt at saturated Sherwood Country Club. McDowell, who led by three after 36 holes and by two entering the final round, finished runner-up here in 2009 and beat Tiger Woods in a playoff to win in 2010 in his only other starts in the event. McDowell, who noted that "something weird is going on here," finished at 17 under.

Woods, a five-time winner here who put a chunk of his own money — $4 million, according to the Associated Press — into the tournament after a deal with a title sponsor fell through, shot 71 and finished eight shots back in a tie for fourth with Rickie Fowler (69) and Jim Furyk (70) and then handed a $1 million check to McDowell.

"My dollar average around this country club is fairly high," said McDowell, who made a clutch birdie at 16 and a deft up-and-down on 17 to keep Bradley at bay. "I'm probably right up there in the top-five in the world in California, no doubt about it. We'll have to look at playing a little bit more here on the West Coast."

Despite several close calls, McDowell, who also won the 2010 U.S. Open in the Golden State at Pebble Beach, finally ended a winless stretch that dated to his win here in 2010. He'll take the next 10 weeks off and return to California to make his first start in 2013 in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.

"I'm over the moon to get the job done," said McDowell, who hopes to open his bar/restaurant called Nona Blue near his Lake Nona home in Florida by late January. "For two years I've been saying things like processes and trying to get better and be patient and hopefully the wins will come. So I guess I got fed up with telling everybody that I'm playing well, playing well. I guess I'm relieved to get across the line and take some nice confidence into this little off period I've got coming up."

Woods could never sustain momentum long enough to make a better run at his sixth title. Now he'll take a six-week break before opening 2013 in Abu Dhabi.

"It's been a long year, and I've played a lot," said Woods, who won three Tour events. "And just really looking forward to (a break), just having nothing to do with golf for a few weeks, just put (the clubs) away, enjoy the holidays, be with my kids and just really enjoy that. Then after that I'll start cranking back up again and start focusing on my shots."