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THE INTERNATIONAL

August 6, 2005

Charles Howell III

CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Charlie, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at The International. Solid round, and obviously great position going into tomorrow's 36 holes.

CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, today was an important day because largely because tomorrow is going to be 36 holes. This golf course is tough enough to play when you've got 18 in front of you, but 36 is obviously a very long day, especially with the that being the case, too, a guy that can get on a little bit better run tomorrow for 36 holes and can keep it going, anybody within 10, 12 points of the lead has a great chance of winning. It should be a little bit more of a shootout tomorrow being 36 holes than 18.

JOAN ALEXANDER: Do you think you have an advantage being younger than most of these guys out here with the position that you're in? Obviously you've played a lot of 36 holes through college.

CHARLES HOWELL III: True. You know, I don't mind the fact tomorrow being 36 holes. That's one of the big reasons I spend so much time working out and trying to stay in good shape. I know the caddies will be a whole lot more tired tomorrow night than we will be.

I think that's where the working out comes into play. We're not out there hitting people and tackling people, but walking 36 holes on this golf course here is not easy, and I think it's just as important physically staying strong as it is mentally. When you get a little bit fatigued physically it's hard to keep your mind intact.

Q. Charlie, playing this morning, did that offer you any advantage, having to play 36 tomorrow and get a little bit more rest?

CHARLES HOWELL III: I definitely think so, absolutely. Yeah, I couldn't have come up with a better scenario than that. Playing this morning was definitely a big advantage, knowing that. It was also nice on Thursday not having to come out to the golf course and sit through the rain delays until it was cancelled.

Yeah, it's going to be a big advantage. I can go practice a little bit this afternoon and get a little bit of work done that I need to get done and then go rest. You could very well have a guy finishing almost dark tonight, having to get up early tomorrow morning and keep going again. Yeah, it's a big advantage, no question.

I found another advantage I had was playing with Retief. Obviously he's a fantastic player and he was playing good, so it was nice to kind of keep bouncing off each other, especially in a format like this where birdies go such a long way.

Q. You talked about working out. Can you give us an idea of how much time you spend working out and if it's typical for a lot of the guys out here?

CHARLES HOWELL III: I'd say 90 percent of the players here work out and do some type of activity. When I'm at home I do it every day, and on the road I still get it in four to five days a week. If nothing else, it's a stress relief; chasing that white ball around can get a bit stressful.

I think working out has just become kind of a normal thing. You know, golfers are athletes. I know it's taken a while for people to understand and accept that, but the days of old guys hanging around and drinking and telling good stories after the rounds are over with, that just doesn't happen anymore. Especially to play out here at this level, with how many good players there are, you've got to stay on top of everything, and working out is one of them.

Q. Any different strategy with 36 holes? I know you're going to be at the top of the leaderboard, but you've got more people that can come from behind I imagine.

CHARLES HOWELL III: Sure. A couple things, the fact that they're not going to cut the 36, that still leaves a lot of players open. We all know that eagles are five points. You saw what Davis did here last year or the year before, having three eagles in one round.

Yeah, by the time I tee off, I hope to be within a few points of the lead, especially with the first hole being a par 5, and yeah, tomorrow will be I think more of a shootout it being 36 holes. Momentum plays a big part, especially out here, and being that it's 36 holes and a player can just keep the momentum going right through without re pairing or stopping, you could very easily see a guy have 20, 25 points tomorrow for the whole day.

Q. When you talk about working out, are we talking about weight lifting, running? Probably a combination, but which one of those is more important than the others and how does the routine work for you?

CHARLES HOWELL III: You know, I still think people are probably still searching for what's the perfect workout for golf. With me and my body type in particular, I only do cardiovascular type stuff three times a week. If I did any more, I'd waste away to nothing. I don't have the option to do that.

Then it's a mix of everything from lifting weights to a little stretching, yoga, a whole bunch of different things. As far as going from olympic lifting all the way through to stretching, just a little bit of everything.

Q. Is it true that you had several milkshakes and are still losing weight out there?

CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, the milkshakes do nothing to me. They don't stick at all. That's overrated. They don't put any weight on you.

Q. You play in this tournament as one that should fit your game and do well. Have you been disappointed with the results you've had here, and have you finally gotten comfortable? Is that fair to say?

CHARLES HOWELL III: I love this tournament a lot. It's definitely one of my favorites. I love the golf course, I like the format. On paper it should fit my game. And it's funny why I haven't played better here in the past. I think my best finish is 10th, I believe.

I'm just glad to be in position for tomorrow. I haven't played as well as I wanted to play the last six or eight weeks, and just to get off to a nice start on Friday was really big for my confidence, and then to hold it in there today and to finish off near the top of the lead, I mean, that's a bigger boost for me than anything in regards to the position I'm in in the tournament, that I needed a bit of a confidence shot, if you will, especially going into next week at the PGA.

A lot of times guys will or will not play prior to majors, but for me it was important to play here, just try to get a little bit of momentum, a little bit of confidence going, and I missed the cut at the British Open by a shot, missed the cut at The Masters by a shot, I missed the cut at the Byron Nelson by one, missed the cut at TPC by one. So I've had a few disappointments to far this year. It was just important for me to play well this week, and I'm really happy with the start.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Can be go through your birdies and bogeys?

CHARLES HOWELL III: No. 10, I hit a driver and an 8 iron to 15 feet, made birdie there.

No. 11, 8 iron to 20 feet, holed that for birdie.

No. 14, I drove it in the left rough off the tee, laid up short of the creek, hit a 9 iron to six feet, holed that for birdie.

Bogey on 16, I hit a 7 iron right of the green, chipped it to about five feet, missed that for par for a bogey there.

Birdie on 3, I actually drove it in the creek on the 3rd hole, that grass hazard there. I hit a wedge to the front right part of the green and holed a putt from about 40 feet or so there. That was a nice bonus there. That probably was a great score from where I drove it. I got lucky on that one.

Then the par 3, the next hole, I hit 9 iron to ten feet, holed that for birdie.

Then 7, I hit 8 iron 25 feet left of the flag, holed that for birdie.

I bogeyed the 8th hole again, drove it in the fairway, laid up, hit a sand wedge just long and right of the hole, spun it back kind of off the left side of the green, chipped it to about four or five feet, missed that one. I've managed to bogey that hole two days in a row from the fairway.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Talking with Billy, you had three birdies on the par 3s and didn't really take advantage of the par 5s, and Billy was the same way.

CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, the par 5s aren't playing as short as they normally do around here. The pins are difficult. The pin on No. 8 is way back left, which is a very difficult hole location there. But that tee being back on 8, you know, it's not even close to the same hole that it used to be. A lot of times before you'd get a driver and a 4 or 5 iron to it. Now you're doing well to have a chance to go for the green in two, which completely changed that hole. That's a really difficult green to hit a wedge into.

14, kind of the same thing. The fairways are a little softer than they have been in years past. You've got to hit a really good drive and hit it in the fairway because you're driving into the narrowest part of the neck to go for it. The par 5s aren't playing quite as easy as they have in years past, which is why 17 is such an important hole now. It's far and away your best eagle chance.

Q. (Inaudible).

CHARLES HOWELL III: 27.

Q. (Inaudible).

CHARLES HOWELL III: Two years ago.

Q. How frustrating has it been for you to not have won more out here? I know you expect a lot of yourself.

CHARLES HOWELL III: I get that question often. You know, I really don't have I wish I had a good answer for it. I finished 2nd I think five times, and I finished 3rd a few more. You know, I don't know. Obviously I would have loved to have won three or four or five golf tournaments by now and I've only won one. You know, I've given myself opportunities, but yeah, I had a really nice start earlier in the year this year and had an outside chance to win Sony where I finished 3rd and a good chance to win San Diego and finished 2nd when the ball came back in the water. Other than that, it's been kind of flat the last couple months. Obviously winning is only thing it's about out here. At the end of the day, people just care who won. I definitely understand the importance of winning, and there's nothing I'd love to do more than that.

If I could somehow manage to win a golf tournament or two before the end of the year, it would be a great year for me just to kind of break through that again. I know I've won one, but it's been so long ago, it's not in the recent memory.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Charles.

CHARLES HOWELL III: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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