MICHELOB CHAMPIONSHIP AT KINGSMILL

October 5, 2001

Charles Howell III

CHARLES HOWELL: 3, par 5 there I hit a drive and a 5-iron just short of the green. Up-and-down birdie there. Next birdie came on 7, another par 5, hit a drive there, then -- 4-iron to the back center of the green, 2-putt birdie there. Next birdie came on 11, I hit a really good tee ball at 11. Hit L-wedge to about three feet there, birdie. Birdied 13, the par 3, actually I hit a horrible tee shot there right of the green there, and chipped in. So that was one of the turning points right there probably. Hit a very bad tee ball to the right of the green there. I was just trying to find some way to shape and form, get it up-and-down and it went in the hole. One of the golf gods are smiling on you there. 7-iron there.

CHARLES HOWELL: To the right of the green.

CHARLES HOWELL: Probably -- I was probably five yards off the green so probably about 20 yards. Then No. 15, par 5, I hit a drive and 2-iron on the green there, 2-putt birdie. Then the 18th hole a drive and 8-iron to 15 feet, to the right of it, made it in there for birdie.

CHARLES HOWELL: Yesterday I didn't play very well. I was pretty disappointed in the way I hit the ball yesterday. I was on the driving range when I got done, about 6:30 last night Nick Price walked up and had him look at a few swings of mine. He gave me a little tip there, get my left shoulder moving on the start of the downswing. It worked. I hit the ball better today than I did yesterday. Little bit of improvement which on this golf course I think if you are hitting the ball good you can take advantage of it. Obviously that sounds pretty cliche but I think this golf course, especially, I can reach all the par 5s in two. I have birdied every par 5 so far this week. And those are important for me. I hit the ball a long way, so it is important I take advantage of the longer holes out here.

CHARLES HOWELL: I had some chances in there. I think that's where my ball striking got a little bit better today. I gave myself a little more chances today. I still haven't hit it unbelievably close to the hole. I hit it close on No. 11 for a birdie there but other than that, 6 of my birdies have come on the par 5s. So you know, then the birdie on 18 there was 15-footer which was nice, but other than that, no, you are right, I have had a few 2-putt birdies and few up-and-downs around par 5s.

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, yeah. It has been close to a few times. I have had generally you know, I was -- what I found this year is on my good rounds has either been most days usually something a little bit off, whether it is one day I am hitting it really well; not putting that well or one or the other. So no, I definitely like what you said there. If I can get a round where it all comes together there, it should be nice. Of course with this stupid game we play you never know.

CHARLES HOWELL: It's funny because when you arrived for a practice round and play the golf course you feel like a low score will win the golf tournament really, really low. It never does. Granted, on the weekend last year the weather was nasty which it may be again this year on this weekend. But it is funny how this golf course is where it's harder than people first give it credit for. I said earlier where if you hit the ball well you can take advantage of it which is the case, but I think your bad shots get penalized more out here. A little bit off of a fairway you get in the rough and the rough is up in spots and then you know, if you miss the greens here, these greens aren't the easiest to chip around. There's a lot of slopes, Pete Dye, smiling down at us there with the typical green like No. 18, for example, where I made birdie there, hitting it 15 feet, but the ball come up three yards short, it could have rolled down the hill; had a 40-foot putt to have to 2-putt. The golf course, there's really a fine line there between really good and then just a decent round.

CHARLES HOWELL: I am playing every tournament. I am going to play next week in Las Vegas. I am going to play Walt Disneyworld after that and then the Buick Challenge hopefully get into THE TOUR Championship. Yeah I am in the rest -- the next 3.

CHARLES HOWELL: Possibly the Australian Open over Thanksgiving. That's -- I went to Australia earlier this year in February and loved it. It was one of the neatest trips I have ever taken. I loved them, the people were great. Golf fanatics, and yeah, we'll be over Thanksgiving, so obviously never want to miss Thanksgiving but being a golfer, Australia is not bad.

CHARLES HOWELL: I am quite possibly going to go play, yes.

CHARLES HOWELL: Honestly depends on how safe I feel flying internationally.

CHARLES HOWELL: No, I didn't. I fly private in the States but that would be a long way to fly private. (Laughs).

CHARLES HOWELL: I played Greg Norman's and the one over in Perth, the Heineken. It's a fun trip though.

CHARLES HOWELL: I will make a decision around THE TOUR Championship, or once this -- end of October. Once this year is over with and see the state of our country or world, I should say.

CHARLES HOWELL: Right.

CHARLES HOWELL: I think a little bit, yeah. You know when I first turned pro I got a lot of attention for being young or one of the new players-- one of the young players, but now there's so many of them that it's kind of been nice on me where I haven't gotten as much attention. Matt Kuchar last week getting his Tour card and Bryce Molder is playing well. He's close, all this kind of stuff so it is kind of nice they get a lot of the attention and the pressure. I remember at the Kemper Open this year when I was in their shoes trying to get my card, I wouldn't get interviewed by people tied for 32, (inaudible) you will receive your card this year and, well, thank you I appreciate that. Yes, I am thinking about that, but it has been nice, it has been rather. It's been a pleasant surprise. I have been able to play the last 3, 4 events here that I have really -- haven't done a whole lot with as far as the pressure because I have gotten a lot of the attention.

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, yeah, I have been close a few times. Lost playoff in middle walk question to Shigeki, that was a hard one to swallow there because obviously you want to win every tournament but I would have loved to have won that one. I was playing well and then lost in a playoff. Fourth in Reno this year; had a good chance to win at Denver at The INTERNATIONAL, and Atlanta. Earlier in year, so I have had a chance to win a few. We'll see.

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, yeah, on that one, although I am not a member. I have a number. I am in the past champions in conditional status member list, and I got into that tournament, I first had a sponsor's exemption into the John Deere, but I was able to get in on my number, which freed up a sponsor exemption which he got and he won the tournament. I didn't see my commission check yet from that. Not even a thank you (Laughs) but, yeah, there's some competitiveness, yeah.

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, I would have told you driving before yesterday because I scared a bunch of squirrels out of their trees. Probably my driving, I'd say. I think I am second in total driving this year and I'd say that's -- I think that's the most important club on Tour is your driver. Obviously you can argue a putter or whatever you want to argue but I think the driver is probably the most important club in the bag and fortunately that's what I have done well with this year.

CHARLES HOWELL: I am 8th in distance.

CHARLES HOWELL: No, that's definitely a huge goal. Being from Augusta obviously I want to play there. And top 40 on the money list will qualify you for that or top 50 in the world will. The Masters hasn't ruled on how they will vote on that issue being that my name doesn't appear on the official money list. The Tour has said at end of the year I will slide in if I were to qualify for THE TOUR Championship, but The Masters hasn't ruled yet or not. I am 65 in the world rankings right now, so if I were to move to 50 then that would get me in that way. So but yeah, that's definitely a goal. That's the reason I am playing as much as I was having the THE TOUR Championship as a goal but also for the Masters.

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, yeah, quite a bit.

CHARLES HOWELL: They won't say a lot. They are pretty hard-headed. They haven't said anything, no, they haven't said anything. At first a few months ago they said we will wait and see what the Tour decides probably hoping that the Tour wouldn't let me play THE TOUR Championship. They are probably coming up with another excuse right now. I am sure. They have got to add more trees.

CHARLES HOWELL: I don't know. I don't know. And being from Augusta I would hope that I would get in and I would hope that would help me. Obviously I have played out there quite a few times and you know, I know a lot of the members. I know the tournament director Buzzy Johnson, my dad grew up with him. They went to school together, so there's a lot of -- hopefully there's a lot of things that they can help me out. With them you just never know.

CHARLES HOWELL: Oh, sure. There's always something there.

CHARLES HOWELL: You know what is interesting, if he were to do it in Europe he wouldn't be criticized at all. It would be taken pretty much common place. But over here, it's shocking. And you know, I turned pro when I was 21 last year after three years of college and I wasn't viewed as some awful person who turned pro early who came out way too young. Now you have a guy who is 17 turning pro, so I think it's going to be hard on him. I think we're going to have -- you are going to get a character test out of him. Obviously his golf game is ready. He can hit the ball. I don't know if you have watched him. He can chip and putt. But I think the Tour, there's a lot more to this than just hitting your ball and getting the ball in the hole. It's the travel. It's off the golf course. It's pacing yourself, all that. So now you have a person who is trying to play the Tour, plus he's trying to go to school. And then where do you go? Do you live in your home in Orlando to all of a sudden you just move into an apartment one day. There's that transition period of college which helps so many of us, he doesn't get that. When I went to college I was so homesick. It was unbelievable. I cried myself to sleep for the first month of school. But I also learned how to be away from home and how to be by myself, and do my laundry, and you figure out when you throw your shirt on the floor dirty it automatically doesn't go into the washing machine and hang itself back up. That sucker is still right there where you left it. I think it is a lot of stuff like that that he is going to have learn to deal with. Obviously I like him a lot. I have known him for a long time. I think he's a great player, but I think plus too he used to listen to what he really believes in himself. I know a lot of players have only criticized him. I read a paper in Orlando where he was bashed by certain pros which is -- that's fine as long as he doesn't pay attention to it.

CHARLES HOWELL: Yeah.

CHARLES HOWELL: To do exactly what he thinks he should do and to not listen to anybody else and to do what he thinks is right. Just going back from when I turned pro people are really always Open to give advice and hey, I know what you are doing wrong, I know what you are doing wrong and you know, so now I think the best thing he can do is ignore all of it. Maybe have a few people around him that he trusts, keep a little small circle of groups around him and believe those people. You have your few people around you that you are close with; everybody else just forget what they say.

CHARLES HOWELL: Sure.

CHARLES HOWELL: Exactly. I was that way. I read a couple of articles when I had turned pro when I ended up not getting my Tour card last year and having to go to Tour School where I was grilled and bashed, it kind of -- obviously it does make you mad a little bit. You want to say well I will go play that writer one-on-one, let's see what kind of game he has got. Or I'd wish he'd come to my course. In the end you just have to ignore it. You have to not let it bother you. Then you learn how to use the word no. Say no.