CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, May 6, 2012 (AFP) - Fowler stuck his approach shot at the first playoff hole, the par-four 18th, four feet from the pin. After both McIlroy and Points had both parred, he made his putt for birdie and the victory in the $6.5 million Wells Fargo Championship.
Fowler, a 23-year-old touted as a future star, won in his 67th US PGA Tour start as a professional.
His only prior victory as a pro was last October at the Kolon Korea Open, where he held off McIlroy.
McIlroy, the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland who has already claimed a major title with his US Open triumph last year, will return to number one in the world golf rankings thanks to his performance here.
He needed only a top-seven finish to regain the top spot from the absent Luke Donald, who had seized it from McIlroy just last week.
Leading final-round scores here on Sunday from the $6.5 million US PGA Tour Wells Fargo Championship (x-won at first playoff hole; USA unless noted, par-72):
274 - x-Rickie Fowler 66-72-67-69, DA Points 66-68-69-71, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 70-68-66-70
275 - Webb Simpson 65-68-69-73
277 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-72-68-66, Ben Curtis 69-70-71-67, Ryan Moore 65-70-68-74
278 - Nick Watney 68-64-72-74
279 - Jonathan Byrd 69-69-72-69, James Driscoll 71-70-69-69, Jason Day (AUS) 70-70-69-70, Brian Davis (ENG) 66-74-69-70, Seung-Yul Noh (KOR) 68-70-70-71, Jonas Blixt (SWE) 68-73-67-71
280 - Sean O'Hair 72-69-69-70, David Toms 74-65-70-71, Robert Garrigus 69-72-68-71, George McNeill 70-68-68-74, John Senden (AUS) 66-68-72-74, Stewart Cink 65-69-71-75
281 - Arjun Atwal (IND) 68-69-75-69, Hunter Haas 68-68-75-70, Martin Flores 68-70-71-72, Ben Crane 70-64-73-74, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 71-70-65-75
282 - Jim Furyk 71-71-71-69, Will Claxton 71-72-70-69, Kevin Stadler 68-74-70-70, Sunghoon Kang (KOR) 71-70-70-71, Martin Laird (SCO) 72-70-69-71, Phil Mickelson 71-72-68-71