Vincent Publishing - Index

Vincent Publishing - 2008 Northern Trust Open - Index

CHARLES
IN CHARGE
HE CAME OUT OF THE BOX LIKE A BAT OUT OF HADES AND MADE LAST YEAR
HIS BEST EFFORT AS A PROFESSIONAL. CHARLES HOWELL III RECORDED HIS SEC-
OND CAREER PGA TOUR VICTORY, DISPELLING HIS “ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID,
HARDLY EVER A BRIDE“ NOTION, BANKED A CAREER-HIGH IN EARNINGS AND
FINISHED 18TH IN THE INAUGURAL FEDEXCUP STANDINGS.
BY JIM CHIAFFREDO
The reason?
“The number one thing that happened was my short game
got better,” Howell said from his home in Orlando.
A David Leadbetter disciple since he was a preteen,
Howell spent most of his off-season before the start of the
2007 campaign with Leadbetter’s Director of Instruction
Kevin Smeltz, who has now stepped in for Leadbetter as
Howell’s main instructor.
“David oversees everything we do, but I wanted more
day-to-day attention, if you will,” Howell said. “David is at
the point in his career that his kids are getting older and
he’s spending more time with them, which is fine. I still see
David a lot here in Orlando, but he doesn’t want to travel
as much as he used to and I totally understand that. I see
Kevin as a younger version of David. He has been with
David for a long time at his Academy and he teaches the
same things.”
Armed with a newfound feel in his short game, Howell finished
tied for second, one stroke behind Paul Goydos, in
his first appearance of the year at the Sony Open in
16
2008 OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT MAGAZINE
Hawaii. He held the 54-hole lead by one over Luke
Donald and then had a two-stroke lead with nine holes
remaining. It was his best finish since finishing second at
the 84 Lumber Classic in September of 2006.
Two weeks later, Howell finished runner-up to Tiger Woods
at the Buick Invitational. His second-place finish was his
ninth since his first PGA TOUR victory in 2002 and second
to Woods in La Jolla, CA.
But all those who were wondering if he could win again
were silenced three weeks later, when Howell caught the
bouquet. At Riviera, Howell earned his second career
TOUR victory, defeating Phil Mickelson in a three-hole,
sudden death playoff. After posting rounds of 69-65-69-
65-268, Howell overcame a three-stroke deficit on the
final day to force the playoff, posting a par-3 on the third
playoff hole to claim victory. Howell earned 4,500
FedExCup points to take the lead in the season-long competition
with 9,652 points.
In his first seven starts, Howell finished in the top 10 five
times, including the win.