For as long as he can remember, today has always been the worst day of the year.

"I used to cry when the Masters was over," Charles Howell admitted Sunday. "I probably looked forward to the Masters more than Christmas. And not only was the tournament over, but I had to go back to school."

For 15 years, Howell has videotaped every minute of the Masters Tournament so he can tolerate some of the ensuing 51 weeks before the next one rolls around.

"I had them almost memorized," Howell said of the television commentary. "Every night for weeks I'd watch them. I'd get Ken Venturi's comments down. I see highlights now on The Golf Channel and I can recite what's next.

"It was a sad state," conceded the self-professed golf geek.

All that study and all that focus paid off for Howell as he achieved his foundation goal of making the cut in his first Masters appearance. After his final-round 73, Howell finished his first Masters at 3-over par, tied for 29th, 15 shots behind repeat champion Tiger Woods.

Now Howell faces a more routine future - a week at Hilton Head Island, S.C., attempting to win his first tournament without being distracted by thoughts of a pending date with destiny.

"It will be interesting and weird playing Hilton Head," he said. "It would be worse if I was taking a week off. I get back to the mind-set of golf and trying to win a tournament."

Still, Howell won't deny that a letdown after his long-awaited Masters debut is likely. But he says he won't cry because it's over - and he doesn't have to go back to school.

"I think because I played in it," he said. "I can't describe how tough this golf course is. But it is like the day after Christmas. I can't think of a more perfect analogy than that."

With an unusual amount of attention on the Augusta native playing in his first Masters tournament, Howell handled the limelight and the pressure well. He downplayed his nerves Thursday, though in reality Howell felt the weight of the moment right down to his legs.

"My calves were shaking, and I don't know how your calves shake," Howell said. "But I really wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. My heart wasn't pounding like I thought it would. Hearing people talk and describe their first tee experiences, saying things like they just wanted to get it airborne and stuff. I didn't have that problem."

By the final round, the nerves were long gone. Howell hoped to grind his way into the top 16 to guarantee a return trip. But balls in the water at Nos. 12 and 15 hurt his chances of making up the needed ground.

Howell even showed his fire by flinging his club into his bag after a disappointing pitch after his drop at 12. He salvaged his bogey and got up-and-down for par at 15.

"Considering everything, I think I did a good job," he said.

Reflecting on a dream just realized is difficult in its immediate aftermath. Howell is mostly looking at it as a golfer, replaying shots in his head and thinking about lessons learned.

But this wasn't the usual post-tournament digestion.

"In no way am I glad it's over," Howell said. "It was just what I thought it would be. It was awesome. It didn't feel anything like a normal golf tournament. There's nothing normal about this place, and I mean that in the best way."