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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

May 28, 2006

David Howell

VIRGINIA WATERS, ENGLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Many, many congratulations. A fantastic performance today, a fantastic performance all week indeed. You've won big tournaments, you've won other BMW events, you've gone head to head with Tiger and beaten him. How does this compare?

DAVID HOWELL: Oh, it supersedes all that definitely. It's as big as it comes on The European Tour, and well I'm absolutely delighted and delighted to have got myself in this situation, and not something I've particularly dreamed of. I guess I never really think great things are going to happen to me, but they seem to keep coming along at the moment. So I'm overwhelmed.

SCOTT CROCKETT: You started three ahead, you obviously had some idea what you needed to do. I guess today must have panned out exactly as you had hoped for.

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, pretty much. My ideal scenario today was to have played just a fantastic round of golf tee to green and pressure free on the putting front. And the front nine sort of panned out that way. I couldn't have wished it had been any better. That just gave me the advantage. I was able to just sort of I didn't feel like coasting. I wasn't complacent but I certainly backed off a little bit on the back nine and made sure I didn't certainly after the 10th leave myself anything stupid again. That was the one bad shot I hit all day really. You know, I was so angry with myself to maybe a three shot swing was possible on 10, which would have been disastrous. I made sure I didn't do anything silly like that.

SCOTT CROCKETT: We have the club details, on the 5th it was a 4 iron to 40 feet.

Q. What did you do so well this week, David?

DAVID HOWELL: I drove the ball fantastically. And I'm always dangerous if I'm putting as I normally do, which is pretty well. If I drive it well, then I generally do well. Obviously not this well, but I really did drive the ball nicely and I gave myself lots of iron shots at the pins.

Q. When you were coming down the stretch, did you have time to let it sink in, or were you just concentrating on getting over the finish line?

DAVID HOWELL: Once I played 17, I mean, still, with two par 5s to come, you know, someone could conceivably finish 3 3. You make a 7 on 17 and all of a sudden things are different, and that's the way you've got to think. And I didn't hit a great drive off 17 as you probably saw. So once I got on the green there, then I knew that I was able to relax then which was obviously the ideal scenario and that's exactly what you can dream of so you can enjoy that walk down the last hole.

Q. The Order of Merit is twice as much money as the second place guy, what do you see for yourself in terms of European golf, do you think you're the best player in Europe now and how do you fancy your chances for the U.S. Open?

DAVID HOWELL: I don't see myself as the best player in Europe, no. I see myself as right now one of a bunch I'm not intimidated by anybody now, but I don't think I'm the best player. I play with Darren Clarke every week at Queenwood and he takes a hundred pounds off me. Sort of not get ahead of myself but I'm comfortable with my position. Obviously my goal is one of my goals this year is to win the Order of Merit. I've given many myself a great chance of that now and again that's something, well, I never really dreamed of. Maybe two or three years ago, guys that were winning Order of Merits seemed in different stratospheres than where I was but I guess I've worked my way somewhere close I guess.

U.S. Open, well, U.S. Opens are traditionally very difficult. Last year I managed to play only one round, so if I play four rounds, which would be the first time in the U.S. Open, that would be a step in the right direction. As always, I don't ask a lot of myself or expect much. We'll see what we do.

Q. I remember asking you when you just got into the World Match Play last year and you said, oh, I never thought of myself as being that's for the big boys, yet obviously now you must feel that you are one of the big boys.

DAVID HOWELL: Slowly but surely realizing that maybe I'd have to think of myself that way, is how I would describe that really. I don't think I go around thinking of myself as a brilliant golfer but I keep performing like this, you know, I'm becoming comfortable with my position in the game. I think possibly just flirting with the Top 10 in the world again. The rankings don't lie, so I might as well believe it. (Laughter).

SCOTT CROCKETT: Provisionally you are in the Top 10.

DAVID HOWELL: Thank you.

Q. Is this the perfect antidote to Swindon's relegation and Dennis Wise's appointment?

DAVID HOWELL: Well, Dennis Wise, not so sure that is a bad thing, but obviously it gives the people of Swindon, they have always been great supporters of mine. I just get wonderful support from everybody in Swindon. I guess I'm a local boy made good, and I appreciate their support and hopefully it gives them something to watch on a Sunday afternoon and I'm delighted to have their support.

Q. Both of you wanted fast starts today, but you got it and birdied the second.

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, I was delighted with how I played the first three to be honest with you. I hit it the best of the week on the range. I really was just trying to slow my swing down and give myself an extra millisecond at the top of my swing. I did that nicely on the range and hit on the first tee and I hit a 2 iron to the first to about 12 feet, which was a great sign for me that I was able to what I was already doing on the course as I was on the range, and then a birdie came at 2. I hit two nice shots down 3 as well. I had a wrong club from Nick, actually, bless him, which I was delighted managed to get such up and down. Really settled down that I was hitting so well, and Miguel gave himself a good birdie chance on 2 and missed and I managed to hole, and things were going my favour straightaway.

Q. Said this is as big as it gets on The European Tour, so reluctantly, do you have to start looking at the majors and think you need to one day secure a major?

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, I've never got ahead of myself in my career but I'm in a position now where if I was to pitch up any of the four majors and play great every day, I'm comfortable with, you know, I'd probably have a chance to win. Obviously that's a difficult bit, playing great every day and then you need the bit of luck that someone like Tiger doesn't play great every day as well.

You know my good golf is good enough to get me in the right position. The Masters this year, I was five or six behind, which is obviously within touching distance, just, of the last round. That's the first time that's happened. And I'm a patient man, hopefully I'll end up getting a chance to win a major. Whether I can take it, we'll have to wait and see.

Q. Where do you think you have your best chance?

DAVID HOWELL: My best chance I think is probably the Masters. I've had my best results there and the course seems to set up nicely for me. That's not to say that if I played great somewhere else, I couldn't do it. I'd like to think I can finally beat 72nd or something which is possible about my best finish in the Open. So I'm looking forward to that this year, just to try and put four decent scores on the board.

Q. Have you got possibly a mental thing when you come to the U.S. Open?

DAVID HOWELL: Possibly I have. Why I've played so poorly in Opens, I'm not sure. I don't think there's a mental thing. Certainly not in recent years. It doesn't come across, I just played crap. The U.S. Open is a different scenario, toughest golf in the world. In America, I've become more comfortable in America in general. Hopefully that will drift into the majors which all seem a little different. I've played reasonably well now in the PGA a couple of times. Slowly but surely I'm getting to grips with all the majors I guess. Certainly excited about having the U.S. Open there.

Q. Have you been out to Hoylake yet?

DAVID HOWELL: I haven't, no.

Q. And presumably you played more links golf as an amateur, I think you won the British Boys'; is that correct?

DAVID HOWELL: That's correct.

Q. What was your best performance?

DAVID HOWELL: I really can't think to be honest with you. We played a lot of links golf courses a long time ago on links courses. As I've become a pro, I haven't come to grips with links courses which is something I'll try to putt right this year.

I've played a lot of golf at where, are we playing this year?

Q. Hoylake.

DAVID HOWELL: Strangely, I've played quite a lot of golf there over the years. And I did quite well in the British Amateur actually. Lost in the quarterfinal to Gordon Sherry. I have some reasonably good memories from back then.

Q. Do you have to drive the ball well at the U.S. Open, and earlier you said that your driving is the best part of your game right now, given that fact, how do you like your chances?

DAVID HOWELL: Well, if I can drive it like I did this week, then I certainly fancy my chances of doing reasonably well. I've always been able to putt really. If I can keep it down the course and I can hit the greens, I wouldn't dream of sitting here and saying I think I have a chance to win, but if I can drive it well, I should be able to cope with the course alongside my peers and do reasonably well. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to.

Q. What was the club on the 10th, and was that the one bad shot of the day?

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, 6 iron, and it was that was the one real bad shot certainly. It came right out of the blue actually. Not that I was getting complacent but I was fully expecting to knock it on the green which is actually what I wanted and made a hash of it.

Q. How is your back this week?

DAVID HOWELL: Back felt really good today and so that's promising, as well. Very pleased with how it's come on during the week.

Q. Similar thing, I heard you say on TV that you thought that maybe now you should be big enough to take weeks off, are you tempted to do that before the U.S. Open, maybe miss Memorial?

DAVID HOWELL: No, because commitments, the number of tournaments I need to play in America, with having the injury, I need to play over there to get my number up. Obviously I have a membership over there so I'm compelled to play my 15 and I'm struggling if I don't play. So for the wants of having a nice schedule around the British Open, I need to put this extra week in now.

Q. Ideally, would you have winning, would you prefer to take a week off or go and play?

DAVID HOWELL: Don't know, really. It hasn't happened quite that often. Don't know which is best to be honest with you.

Q. Your status in European golfer, it wasn't much of an issue before the day would you be in Ryder Cup in September, are you aware you're now going to be someone to whom Europe is going to be looking to as a big points scorer?

DAVID HOWELL: Well, I hope to be in that situation. That was my goal, this Ryder Cup anyway, was to qualify and play a bigger role than last time. I know it seems a million miles away, but the last Seve Trophy, I assumed that role for Great Britain & Ireland against Europe. It was the first time in a team event I've been one of the main players in a team and expected, like you say, to win some points. I'm not saying that the Seve Trophy is the same level as the Ryder Cup but it's not a million miles off and I coped fairly well.

Obviously I hope to be playing well going into the Ryder Cup. I've love to be I'd love Woosie to put me first on the team sheet Friday morning and go out and try to win a point. If I'm playing poorly, then I'm quite happy to sit out.

I'd like to assume that role. I was in awe of the likes of Westwood and Clarke and Garcia at the last one; the fact that they came away with sort of four points was a fantastic achievement. And I certainly would love to come away from a Ryder Cup with the same sort of results as that. Not going to be easy, but I look forward to the challenge.

Q. Probably fair to say, I hope you agree it's fair to say that 14 months or so ago, you are a much golfer now than you were 14 or so months ago; yes?

DAVID HOWELL: Yes.

Q. Can you explain why, significant things that you do better now?

DAVID HOWELL: I just do everything better. It's an appalling answer but I just do everything slightly better. My swing has become more consistent, with my coach, Clive Tucker, and I've got more self belief, I've got more experience. It's been a long time to learn this game, and I'm just getting there I guess really. I was pretty raw when I came out on Tour a couple years this time last year, I was in the process of getting better and I'm continuing on that path. So where I'll end up, I don't know. If I can continue to improve, then I'm obviously going to be pretty good, and if I don't, then this might be my glory day. Hopefully that's not the case.

Q. You said if you keep on winning BMW events, you'd like to end up getting one, any plans?

DAVID HOWELL: Well, I joked about it last time, but I've got a deal with Jaguar. I've never bought a car but it's about time sooner or later that I do I guess.

Q. Do you feel comfortable at BMW events?

DAVID HOWELL: I do, yeah. It's nice to see the same faces around, Marco, who runs the tournament and it gives me a nice boost and obviously having these lovely trophies on the mantlepiece, the more the better.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Many, many congratulations. Good luck.

End of FastScripts.

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