The Zone Interactive Golf Magazine (UK) The Zone Issue 28 | Page 8

NEWS
laughs during rounds that can last six
hours.
Howell was partnered with the actor,
Hugh Grant, a keen golfer who doesn't
take life too seriously. Rounds of 67 and
68 to open up with were good enough,
but when Howell fired a third-round 63
he found himself in contention for his
first win in seven years. Could he hold
his nerve?
A flawless final round of 67 saw him
finish on 23 under par, tied with Peter
Uihlein, the young American who has
had such a wonderful season. On the
second playoff hole, Howell drained an
eight-foot birdie putt. With it came a
£500,000 winners' cheque and a bunch
of ranking points.
Howell believes that his road to
redemption began when he and Emily
got back together and married in 2009.
Their first child, Freddie, was born last
year, and twins are due in December.
“I had lost my way in life and on
the course as well,” Howell said. “It’s
obviously a really sweet moment to
be happy and settled with Emily and
Freddie at home and the twins on the
way. Life has never been better, and to
win a massive championship really sort
of seals the fact that things are good at
the moment and I’m in a really happy
place."
When he got home from St Andrews,
he and Emily broke the habit of a
lifetime and talked about his victory.
"We don’t normally talk about golf
but this felt like a reason to make an
exception. So we got past the 'Well
done' bit and then Emily said, 'I’ve got
to be honest, I thought Shane Lowry
was going to win. He played brilliantly,
didn’t he?'
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"On the Monday morning it was my
turn to do the morning shift with
Freddie. First nappy changed at 7.30am
and then he was on his tricycle. I don’t
think I left the house all day. That
enough glamour for you?"
Ah yes, David Howell sure knows how
to live.
It is instructive that when Paul
McGinley ask him to be one of his
vice-captains for the Ryder Cup match
at Gleneagles next year he refused.
Having played on winning teams in
2004 and 2006, Howell quietly fancied
his chances of making it back on to the
team, or at least trying to do so. And
now he has given himself the perfect
platform from which to launch his bid.
"Now my schedule looks much more
exciting. I’m back playing in WGCs
[World Golf Championship events] for
the first time in six years and you’ve no
chance of making the Ryder Cup team
unless you’re playing in those. Don’t
get me wrong. I’m not sitting here and
predicting I will get back in the team.
But at least I now have a chance.
"So in that sense, and in terms of
schedule, the win changes everything."
THEZONE / ISSUE 28