Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU's Howell Has Sights Set on The Masters
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Golf
April 8, 1999
STILLWATER, Okla. - For even casual sports fans, the words "The Masters" bring to mind one of sports' most prestigious events.
But for golf-playing natives of Augusta, Ga., such as OSU sophomore Charles Howell, the famed tournament and all its traditions hold an even higher place of respect.
Howell, the third-ranked collegiate player in the nation, will miss this year's Masters, just as he did last year's. But that 1998 tournament marked the first time since he was six years old that Howell failed to walk the hallowed grounds of Augusta National.
"I'd been every year since 1987, and that was the year that Larry Mize won- an Augusta native," says Howell with an ever-present smile. "It was a big deal getting me started playing golf and wanting to play, because since I started playing golf I always attended The Masters and saw all those guys play. I think it helped me get serious about golf."
Howell got very serious about golf, beginning one of the best careers in American Junior Golf Association history. Howell won eight AJGA-sponsored tournaments in his junior career, tying Bob May and Tiger Woods for second all-time behind only Phil Mickelson. But upon joining former rival Boyd Summerhays - Howell and Summerhays are two of the only 12 players to win four AJGA All-America awards - on Coach Mike Holder's OSU team in Fall 1997, Howell struggled mightily. Although he showed flashes of his potential, he failed to crack the top 30 in four conventional tournaments during his first semester in college.
"I think it was a question of being homesick," Howell says now, 12 top-10 finishes later. "I'd never been away from home before - especially not 1,000 miles away. You go from home, and everything's right there for you, to out here where you have to take care of yourself. And I carried that over to the golf course. I didn't handle it as well as I should have and didn't play well in the fall. In the spring, I think I finally settled down and got used to it. Coach Holder helped me a lot, and I played well in the spring."
Also helping was the presence of Summerhays (who is now on a two-year mission in Argentina), a longtime friend and rival.
"Boyd and I were good friends since we were 14 years old," says Howell. "He never was homesick at all, though; it never bothered him. But it helped a lot having him around."
Howell's freshman spring season had a tremendous start as he finished in the top three in four of OSU's first six events. But he remained the proverbial bridesmaid, finishing second twice but taking home no medalist honors as a freshman. This year, he wasted no time in getting his first collegiate trophy; Howell won the Preview, the fall season's first tournament.
"Your first win in college golf takes the monkey off your shoulders," Howell says. "People always ask, 'When are you going to win?' The expectations are high, so it really helped to get that win."
One month before his first collegiate victory, Howell was within striking distance of what would have ranked as his biggest triumph. He reached the third round of the U.S. Amateur Championships, needing to win just three more matches to reach the final round - and earn his first trip to The Masters as a competitor rather than as a spectator.
"Not so much on the golf course, but off the course it was certainly in my mind," says Howell. "It's a dream of mine to play in The Masters, especially as an amateur."
Of course, that's also the dream of millions of golfers, very few of whom have the credentials of Howell but most of whom probably have a perception of Augusta as a small Georgia town that awakens once a year to host the most prestigious event in sports.
"Augusta's a town of 500,000 people, so it's a little bigger than people think," Howell says. On the other hand, "there are restaurants around Augusta named The Green Jacket and The Clubhouse. The whole town is built around The Masters and that golf course. There's all kinds of merchandise for sale around Augusta with the Masters logo on it year-round."
Needless to say, tickets to The Masters are among the most coveted on the planet. Howell says his grandfather has had tickets for many years, which allows the Howells to attend the event. However, tickets can not be passed on in an owner's will, and the waiting list is, in Howell's words, "100 years long," so eventually he may have only one way to attend: to qualify himself.
Yes, it's a dream. But with Howell, it's getting close to reality.
