Memory of Mize's victory in '87 still inspires Howell
The first time Charles Howell attended his hometown tournament - the Masters - when he was 7, an Augusta native won.
Twenty Aprils later, Howell has perhaps his best chance yet to duplicate Larry Mize's dramatic win in 1987.
Howell, off to his best start as a pro, returned to Augusta National Golf Club on Monday and recalled the impact Mize's victory had on him.
"Yeah, that was a big part of my growing up, to see a guy from Augusta win the Masters right here in my backyard," Howell said. "I don't think I knew how difficult then this tournament was to win, but I do now."
After missing the cut for the second time in a row at last year's Masters and falling to 86th in the world ranking by the end of the year, Howell has turned things around.
A pair of runner-up finishes in Hawaii and at Torrey Pines, along with a hard-fought win at Riviera, has boosted Howell to No. 15 in the World Golf Ranking, No. 2 in this season's FedEx Cup points and No. 3 on the money list entering Augusta.
His turnaround, along with the rise of fellow Augustan Vaughn Taylor on the PGA Tour, makes this year's Masters look like the best chance for a hometown boy to win since 1987.
"Well, I would certainly hope," Howell said. "I know Vaughn is playing well, and he's had a nice start to the year.
"I would love nothing more, obviously, (than to win), and I've said it for years. I've probably said enough about what this tournament means to me. It would be very, very special."
There obviously is more pressure on Howell than on other players, said his coach, David Leadbetter.
Most of it is because he is locally known, and part of it is because of Howell's highly regarded reputation as a younger player.
"He's the hometown boy, so there's a lot expected of him here. He really wants to play well, and there's a little bit more pressure because of this location," Leadbetter said Monday. "But he's looking good. He's playing better than ever now, at the top of his game."
That wasn't the case a year ago, when Howell's opening rounds of 80 and 84 placed him last among the tournament's starters.
This year, he's trying to change his approach.
"I haven't done well in this tournament having high expectations. ... So the best thing I can do this week is, as much as I can, treat this as a normal event," he said. "We all know that it's not, that the pressure is there and the golf course is there. But the best thing I can do is just to try to treat this as if it were another stop on the PGA Tour, truthfully. And that's not an easy thing to do. especially when a place is very special to you."
Howell's routine this year has been forced to change. He had to play well early just to earn an invitation to the Masters, which he solidified with his Nissan Open win.
Howell said Monday that he's thankful to be here this week instead of watching the Masters on TV from his Orlando, Fla., home.
"It's definitely a privilege for me to be sitting here at this golf tournament, and hopefully I can take advantage of it," he said.
Mize certainly did when he got his chance.
"I just wish that someday I can copy what he did," Howell said.
This year might be his best shot yet.
Reach Steve Sanders at (706) 823-3216 or steven.l.sanders@augustachronicle.com.
