Creative play keeps Howell in the hunt
Creative thinking means a lot in terms of preserving a player's sanity at Augusta National Golf Club.
What might seem like an absurd shot selection on any other golf course could be the best alternative to steer clear of catastrophe.
David Howell seems to have embraced that unconventional wisdom.
The Englishman used some cunning and imagination Friday to make his third Masters Tournament cut in as many appearances.
Howell double-bogeyed the first hole and bogeyed the second, but fought through a 3-over 75 round that could have been much worse.
"It was an interesting day," the 31-year-old said. "Mentally, it was great. I'm just not swinging that well, and I hit some bad shots. I'm not in control of the ball as I'd like to be. I haven't been all year."
Howell's tee shot at No. 18 was a clear sign of that. His drive veered into the tall pine trees on the left and deflected even farther to the left. The ball landed atop some mashed pine straw next to a large concession tent, which was positioned so close that Howell could have stopped in for a pimento cheese sandwich. Instead, he lobbied for relief to the left side of it with rules official William Lewis and club member John Reynolds.
"I was just trying to work out where I could get to the left of the tent with a free drop, trying to use the rules to my advantage," Howell said.
Lewis and Reynolds disagreed with Howell, though, and determined that his relief point was two club lengths from his ball's position toward the tent's right side, which would have been doable - if he were left-handed.
After 20 minutes of deliberation with Reynolds, Lewis and caddie Nick Mumford, Howell chose to play the ball from its original spot, aiming a wedge for the open area adjacent to the 18th hole. He hit the ball to where he intended, blasted a 7-iron to about 14 feet from the pin and made a sigh-of-relief bogey.
"It could've easily been 6 or 7 as bad a tee shot as that was," he said. "I dodged a bullet."
It wasn't the only calamity Howell encountered.
His approach shot on the fourth hole hit the bleachers, but he saved par. After a birdie at No. 10, Howell's tee shot on the par-4 11th careened into the short pine trees guarding the fairway's right side. Standing on pine straw, he tried to hit a low runner down the fairway toward the hole. But the ball smacked a tree trunk 25 feet away and bounced back at him. He eventually reached the green and bogeyed.
"I ended up shooting 3-over par, which isn't what you want on the Friday of a major anywhere," he said. "But the way I hit the ball, beggars can't be choosers."
After his up-and-down second round, Howell was just pleased that he didn't let Friday's shortcomings get out of hand.
"I'm in the hunt again at Augusta after two rounds, which is wonderful," he said. "I need to get on the range and start driving the ball straighter. I haven't driven it well so far, so I have to turn that around over the weekend."
Reach John Kaltefleiter at (706) 208-2213.
