BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 17, 2002

Charles Howell III

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Charles shot a 67 today, is 12-under for the tournament. Charles, get us started a little bit with some opening comments.

CHARLES HOWELL: Well, today was a little bit of an interesting day. I started off a little slower than I probably would have liked to. You get used to seeing the leaderboards out here, and they go straight up with birdies after birdies.

But I had a good back 9, though. And really I didn't hit the ball as well today as I did yesterday, but I was able to get a few birdies coming in.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Before we get started with questions, just real quick we'll go through your birdies and bogeys. As you mentioned the front side, one birdie, No. 2.

CHARLES HOWELL: No. 2. And then the back, I had birdies on 18, 15, 14, 12 and 11. 11, 12, 14, 15, 18. Bogey on 16, drove in the water off 16 and made bogey.

Q. You mentioned the scoreboard. When you're playing and watching the scores get lower and lower, how -- does that have any reflection on you, or do you play through it or what?

CHARLES HOWELL: I try not to pay attention to it, to be honest with you. I think out here you've got to expect a little bit of seeing low scores. It's like what Joe Durant shot 36-under last year, I think.

I think when you tee off having that in the back of your mind, you try to put it out of your mind. But it's still there a little bit. You're kind of accustomed to making a lot of birdies out here, when you play the front 9, 1-under par, you feel like you're a couple over.

Q. You have a full exemption this year. Does that change your attitude, are you more relaxed?

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, definitely so. Last year I started and -- I started with just 7 exemptions, and frankly, I've always said one of the best tournaments I played was the Kemper Open, I finished 14th there, but I had to make a certain amount of money there to keep conditional status or to gain conditional status to keep playing on tour. So I had 6th place in Atlanta and 5th place in New Orleans, but I think I had to make around $10,000 that week to gain conditional status, which people say that's just one cut. But if you miss it, you're done.

So I think that's probably one of the best tournaments I played last year. But I don't have to deal with that this year. I don't have to play a schedule -- I think I played 14 weeks in a row last year, I don't have to get stuck doing that. I don't mind doing it, but I'd probably lose my wife in the process (laughter.)

Q. Are you using a C-4 driver, and if so, what does it do for you compared with previous drivers you've used?

CHARLES HOWELL: I just switched to it last week in Hawaii, and it's the best driver I've ever used and I've gone through a lot of them. What it does for me is actually I'm able to launch it higher, but spin it less, which I think every golfer and their brother is after that combination, there.

But for me I'm able to -- I've picked up probably 10 to 12 yards of carry, versus the VFT driver I was using. It doesn't roll as far. But overall distance is very similar to the other one. But I've picked up some carry yardage, and it's helped my golf swing a little bit in a sense, where I don't have to work to get the ball up in the air as much as I did with the VFT. It's a good club.

Q. Charles, you're one of those players that's mentioned as kind of golf's next star type of thing. Do you like having that role thrust upon you, do you like being considered in that elite group?

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, yeah, definitely. I've always said there's obviously expectations that go along with that, but if people aren't saying it, then they don't think you're very good. No, I like being in that role. It -- it won't change me a whole lot, and hopefully it won't change the way I look at things and see things. But with expectations and so forth, I try to leave them off the golf course, and to play as well as I can.

There's going to be days where you think you're better than Tiger Woods, there's going to be days you think you can't come close to him. But overall I take that as a compliment.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you, Charles.

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