For the first time, Howell believes he can win a major
Despite climbing into the world top 10, David Howell of England has never really contended for a major title. But as he surveys the field at Winged Foot, he is aware that he's beaten every player in the field in one big event or another.
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (PA) -- David Howell has played just three rounds in the U.S. Open, and is a total of 23-over-par for the event. But Britain's top-ranked player and the runaway European Tour Order of Merit leader is confident he can contend for his first major title this week at Winged Foot.
In his tournament debut at Bethpage in 2002, Howell shot rounds of 78 and 81 to finish 144th out of 156 starters. Last year he carded an opening 74 at Pinehurst before being forced to withdraw with an abdominal injury suffered on the range.
Not exactly the statistics to have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson looking anxiously over their shoulder you would think.
However, since returning from that injury, Howell has played like a man possessed, winning his first European Tour title in six years in Munich, then outscoring playing partner Woods on the final day to win the inaugural HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai last November.
The 30-year-old also defeated Mickelson on his way to the quarterfinals of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship earlier this year, and finished 19th in the Masters before cruising to a five-stroke victory in the prestigious BMW Championship at Wentworth a few weeks ago.
Such a run of form has taken Howell into the world's top 10 for the first time, with Sergio Garcia the only European player ranked above him, and confidence is sky-high.
"I have never come to a major before feeling I could win it," admitted Howell. "I am starting to realize if I play great for four days at any of the majors, there is no reason I wouldn't be in with a shout of winning.
"I have yet to do that. I still need to improve a bit, to be honest with you," he added. "But from this year onwards is the first time I would even allow myself to think about contending in a major because my game just wasn't good enough before.
"Before I was just trying to make the cut. If I miss the cut now, it would be very disappointing," he explained. "Three years ago I thought finishing 40th was pretty good. I am not going to think like that now. It needs to be better than that to be a good week."
Howell has, in fact, only made the halfway cut in five majors in his career, and admitted he was "in awe" of his European Ryder Cup teammates Garcia and Darren Clarke during the record victory at Oakland Hills. But the former Walker Cup star is starting to believe he belongs among the game's elite.
"I know I am getting better," he added. "I didn't think I was that good because I wasn't that good.
"As I get better I am going to believe it more. I am much more comfortable," he said. "I come here this week and look around and there is no one here I haven't beaten before. There is no one here I haven't played with before.
"I am playing against the same guys every week so the majors field doesn't feel intimidating any more."
No European has won a major since Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie at the 1999 British Open, and none has won the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin way back in 1970.
But with 14 British and Irish players alone in the 156-strong field this week, Howell believes it is just a matter of time before someone takes inspiration from Michael Campbell's victory last year to end such a depressing sequence.
"Back in the '70s and '80s, it was only the top three or four guys getting in this event, but now it looks like a European Tour event half the time," Howell added. "You see 20 or 30 guys, which is fantastic. Everyone is getting more used to it so it should become easier for us to do well in, if only through weight of numbers.
"Look at Peter Hedblom last year, for instance [who finished 11th]. That would have been unheard of 10 years ago for someone ranked 20 or 25 in Europe to do that," he said. "We are getting closer and I think we'll do it eventually, but you've got to play the golf.
"Michael [Campbell] is a European Tour player through and through. We know him well and he did do it, so why not? It will be interesting to see if that feeds down to the Europeans and the Brits.
"If he can do it, I'm not saying just anyone can, but you take confidence from that. That's very much what happened at the Masters in the '80s and '90s, one of them won it and then the next one thought: 'Well, I beat him every other week, so why not?' That opened the floodgates.
"I have only played two U.S. Opens, one I was injured and the other I got injured in. In theory, it shouldn't suit me, but in theory U.S. Open courses suit the better players. It is the ultimate test of golf -- it is just a bloody tough course.
"I am certainly in better shape to cope with the course than I was three, four or five years ago," he said. "Now is the time to start judging how I can do in these things."
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