Charles

Howell III

CH3 made his pro debut at TPC River Highlands back in 2000 (T32) and is making just his fifth return visit. After watching today’s clinic, maybe he should have added this event to his schedule more often over the course of his career. The Oklahoma State alum peppered 16 greens today and gained 1.6 strokes putting from there. The highlight of his day was a near hole-out from the rough (148 yards) at the par-4 first hole. He entered the week with finishes of T33 or better in four of his last six starts and he’s off to another good start.

The 42-year-old bags his second top 10 in 11 visits, joining a solo 8th three tries ago in 2011, and records his first top 10 of the season in 10 events and first since a back-door T9 at the 2021 PLAYERS 19 starts and 13 months ago. For the festivities, he recorded rounds of 70-67-72-69, totaled 19 birdies versus nine bogeys, and ranked 3rd SG: Tee-to-Green (10.581), including a No. 1-ranking Off-the-Tee (5.782), but a lowly 58th in SG: Putting (-1.835), -1.198 of that on Sunday. The Augusta, Georgia, native, who did not qualify for this coming week’s Masters, for a second edition in a row, opened with two bogeys today at holes 1 and 3 before playing his final 15 in bogey-free 5-under, circling 8, 11, 14, 15 and 18, the latter securing his first top-5 finish since a back-door T3 at the 2020 3M Open.

CH3 put on a ball-striking clinic today as he split 10-of-14 fairways and pelted 14 greens in regulation. His steady striking gave him eight birdie-or-better looks from inside of 10 feet and he converted on seven of them to offset a trio of blemishes. The Oklahoma State product ranks 8th in strokes gained off-the-tee this week which is a good sign considering how he sees the course, ", it’s a driving golf course is what it is. If you can get the ball in play off the tees, you can score on it.” He has played this course just three times in the past with a solo 8th in 2011 and a pair of missed cuts (2015, 2021).

The 42-year-old, in on a sponsor exemption, opens 68-73 to improve to 19-for-22 in the event and will play out of the fifth-to-last pairing on Saturday with Patton Kizzire. As impressive as his record is with cashing checks at Bay Hill, including eight prior top 25s, he’s managed just one top 10 so far, a T8 seventeen years ago in 2005 (71-68-75-71). To a degree, that mirrors the Augusta, Georgia, native’s entire PGA TOUR career, which includes 227 top 25s but just three wins in 601 career events. He improved tee-to-green (R2 vs. R1), gaining 3.481 strokes in R2, including a stout 2.894 on approach, but was drastically worse with the flat stick, losing 2.139 today against a +2.131 yesterday, drug down by two, 3-putt bogeys at 16 (from 51'7") and 18 (from 31'3").

Making his 22nd appearance at the API, CH3 traded six birdies with a pair of bogeys today. He got the job done despite ranking 119th (of 120) in fairways hit (3). Howell recovered from the inaccurate driving display to gain 1.669 strokes on approach and warmed up the flat stick (+2.131 strokes gained putting). The Oklahoma State arrived with an 18-for-21 record at this event but this is just the second time that he’s opened with a score better than 71. The other time was also an opening 68 (2014) and he’d follow that up with rounds of 71-72-76 to settle for T35 that week. The Orlando resident missed the cut in back-to-back events leading up to this week but he’s back on track after day one.

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.

The 42-year-old Howell’s best finish at the Shootout is a T-2 in 2012 with Rory Sabbatini, when they finished one stroke back winners Sean O’Hair and Kenny Perry. He was T-3 in 2019 with Luke List. This is his first time teaming Poulter. The world No. 202 has made four starts in the new PGA Tour season, improving each week: After missing the cut at the Fortinet, he rebounded with a T-47 at the Shriners, T-33 at the Mayakoba and T-16 at the RSM Classic. Last season, Howell failed to the playoffs for the first time in his career after finishing 139th in the FedExCup standings. He made 14 cuts in 21 starts and finished T-9 at the Players Championship for his only top 10. He finished 130th on the money list, marking the first time in his career that he finished outside the top 80 in earnings. This week marks Poulter’s eighth start in the Shootout, an event he won in 2010.

The 45-year-old Englishman is one of five past Shootout champions are in the field that are playing with different partners. Also in Naples, Fla., this week is two-time winner Sean O’Hair (2012, 2017), Jason Day (2014), Brandt Snedeker (2015) and Brian Harman (2018). Poulter won with Dustin Johnson in 2010. In 2010, Poulter teamed with Dustin Johnson to beat Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell by two strokes. He finished third in 2013 with Westwood and T-3 in 2014 with Billy Horschel. He also was fifth in 2020 with McDowell. Poulter arrives at Tiburon Golf Course off a T-6 in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. He finished 23rd the Race to Dubai after making nine cuts in 12 starts with four top 10s, with his best being a T-4 at the Scottish Open. He’s made four starts in the new PGA Tour season, making just one cut -- at the CJ Cup @ Summit where he was T-18 – and missing the cut in his last two starts the Mayakoba and Houston Open. This week marks Howell’s 11th start in the Shootout, where he finished runner-up in 2012 with Rory Sabbatini and third in 2019 with Luke List.

The 42-year-old Howell captured his third career title at Sea Island, winning with a birdie on the second playoff hole to beat Patrick Rodgers after they tied at 19-under 263. The victory ended an 11-year win drought dating back to 2007 at Riviera, a span of 4,291 days. Howell opened with back-to-back rounds of 64 and dueled with Rodgers down the stretch Sunday. After Rodgers birdied 18 to take a one-stroke lead, Howell made a 5-foot birdie putt on 17 to tie and barely missed his own birdie putt on 18 to win in regulation. Howell won by making a 15-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole for his first victory in 333 PGA Tour starts. He’s making his 12th event appearance this week and has made nine cuts with the 2018 win among his four top 10s. He’s undoubtedly looking for a rebound season after a 2021 that saw him make just 14 cuts in 21 starts and miss the Tour Playoffs for the first time in his career. He finished T-9 at the Players for his only top 10 and was 139th in the FedExCup standings.

With rounds of 67-68 and now 66, the 42-year-old is in the top 10 after 54 holes for the first time since the 2019-20 ZOZO in Japan (Oct. 2019), where he was T8 before finishing T8 (70-65-66-69). In the two years since, he’s only managed one other top-10 finish, a T3 at the 2020 3M Open, where he was T13 at the three-quarter pole (71-65-67-65). This is the Oklahoma State product’s 19th Shriners, seventh straight made cut, with four prior top 10s, but none since an event-tying-best T5 in 2014 (67-69-67-65). Thru three days, he’s totaled two eagles, including a hole-out 2 today from a greenside bunker at the drivable par-4 15th, and 12 birdies against four bogeys, and his best strokes gained rankings are 24th off-the-tee (1.284) and 3rd around-the-green (3.460).