When Charles Howell III tees it up in this week’s WM Phoenix Open, he’ll become the 69th player to make at least 600 starts on Tour, however, the 42-year-old will be the third youngest to reach that milestone.
In his first 599 Tour, he’s made 461 cuts (77 percent), notched 227 top-25 finishes, 97 top 10s and three wins. He told PGATour.com his only “misgiving” is the many close calls: 16 runner-up results and 10 third-place finishes. “I think, holy cow, I have 26 seconds and thirds. If I’d have won even half of those, it would have been a phenomenal career,” he said. “I wish I would have found a way to win more. Hopefully I still can.” In 15 previous starts at TPC Scottsdale, Howell has made 13 cuts with two top 10s (T-6 in 2014, T-4 in 2010). In six starts this season, he’s missed just one cut – at the Fortinet Championship – and was T-8 in the unofficial QBE Shootout. Howell was T-25 in his last start at the American Express.