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WGC CA CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 23, 2007Charles Howell IIIDORAL, FLORIDA Q. Was it a weird up-and-down day for you? CHARLES HOWELL III: You know, I said yesterday that you need to play the par 5s out here and I just didn't do that today. I played the par 5s 1-over, and on a windy day, again, you've just got to take advantage of those holes out here. But no, the golf course isn't playing easy. I don't think you're going to see a whole lot of people just go run away. You know, the wind is up, there's some rough, and with these cross-wind holes, it's difficult to keep the ball in the fairway. Q. Even with the way you're playing the par 5s, you're still in this thing as much as anybody? CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, I think we've seen a little trend here on the Florida Swing that the guys are not going really low. You know, the golf course isn't easy and any time you get 20-mile-an-hour winds blowing it doesn't make it any easier. So I don't know that 20-under par will win this year -- well, 20-under par will win. Whoever gets there will have played some really good golf. Q. The Florida Swing -- inaudible CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, I do, because par is rewarded, good score. When you do make birdies, you've done something. It definitely has not been a case where you have to go out and make a bunch of birdies, just keep pace with the field. You see guys 1-, 2-, 3-under par making some ground, and that's -- I like that. You know, it's definitely a difference from a lot of the other events we've seen over the last few years. Q. No. 3 and No. 18 played as two of the hardest holes on TOUR yesterday. Are you surprised by that and why do you think so? CHARLES HOWELL III: No, I'm not surprised by it, and no, anybody with a TV can see why they did. Wind and water and they are playing long. It's two difficult holes, yeah. Q. The difference in the putting -- inaudible -- still in contention, the consistency is that why you're doing so well? CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, the short game is a big part of that, yes. I've still got a ways to go to improve it. You know, playing the first two days of the event here with Vijay Singh, one of the best short games in the world. Mine is definitely improving and getting there and it's allowed me to hang in there on some windy days; that, and the ability to hit some knock-down shots that I probably didn't have a year or so ago. Playing with a guy such as a Vijay and to see what level his short game is, it gives me a nice parameter to go off of. Q. Did you attend the Masters on any day in '97? CHARLES HOWELL III: No, I was in college. Q. (Could you have gone)? CHARLES HOWELL III: I wasn't qualified for the event so I couldn't go. I've played a lot of golf up in Augusta at Sage Valley, which is a fantastic golf course up there. No, obviously Augusta National is a really special place, but I wasn't going to go out there if I wasn't in the golf tournament. No, I didn't deserve it. Q. Do you remember the first time you played it? CHARLES HOWELL III: I was ten years old, I shot 79, but we played from the members' tees, the up-tees. One of the members there invited myself and my dad out to play. Yeah, I was ten, and obviously the up-tees, which I don't know if they even exist out there anymore, but I shot 79. Q. (Did you realize what a special place it was at that age)? CHARLES HOWELL III: No, everybody that picks up a golf club appreciates that place. I'm sure I did. Q. Is winning a tournament like this the next obvious step to winning a major? CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, being in contention to win an event like this, or a major, sure. You know, when you look at the top players in the world, they seem to be in contention a lot in these events. A very high level of consistency, that's what's important. To be in contention on an event like this, and to have a chance to win it, sure, absolutely. But that's how I learn, that's how everybody learned. Everybody had to be there and to go through it. Obviously had a lot of second place finishes and a couple wins, but it's still those chances on Sunday that really matter. Q. Are you looking forward to getting back to Augusta and kind of burying the corpse of whatever that was that happened last year when aliens took over your body? CHARLES HOWELL III: No, I'm looking forward to this weekend and the Tavistock Cup on Monday and Tuesday. End of FastScripts |
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