Howell Leads by III

What you can call Charles Howell III: Charles, Chuck, Charlie, CH3. What he doesn’t like to be called: Thurston ... as in the character from “Gilligan’s Island.”

But whatever you want to call Howell, you should start with this: ahead.

Howell went out Saturday and poured a three-under-par 68 over Riviera Country Club, good enough for a three-shot lead at the Nissan Open and the chance to accomplish something today that he has never done before -- win a tournament that also included Tiger Woods.

There are eight players within five shots of Howell’s 11-under 202, with Nick Price the closest, but none of them named Woods, who is a lock to extend his Nissan Open record to 0 for 8.

Woods birdied the last hole but managed only a 73 and is tied for 28th, 11 shots behind Howell at even-par 213.

It hasn’t been a great week for Woods, who has played two rounds over par so far, something he hasn’t done in more than a year, last January at Kapalua, a span of 23 tournaments worldwide, and only the second time since 1999 (the NEC Invitational, which he won).

Woods started badly, and fast. The first ball he hit, he hooked his three-wood out of bounds and sent it rattling around the TV trucks in the parking lot. Double bogey. That counted as a three-shot swing, because Howell birdied the hole, but Woods joked he knew what hooking that tee shot meant.

“Instead of hitting into the second fairway, I hit it into the parking lot,” he said.

Howell was much more accurate and much more consistent, with two birdies and an eagle, and very few slip-ups. He made his first bogey in 33 holes when he missed the 12th green, chipped on and two-putted.

Other than that, it was fairly routine for Howell, who enjoyed the monotony of 14 pars as he put himself in position to win for the second time in his three-year career.

Howell has never led after 54 holes. When he won at Kingsmill, he was two behind Brandt Jobe after 54 holes. Not that he’s complaining, though.

“The only thing I’d rather have is [to be] more shots ahead,” he said.

Instead, Howell is the target and he has more than a few people trying to chase him down from behind. Principal among them is Price, the 46-year-old 18-time winner whose third-round 70 kept him in the chase. If he had to list the primary asset on his side of the ledger, Price said it would be his experience and Howell’s lack of such.

“Charles hasn’t been there too often,” Price said. “That’s the only thing I’ve got going for me. But he’s playing very solidly and he showed great maturity today. [And] he’s putting so well. I think that’s what’s going to be tough tomorrow.

“He doesn’t look to have too many chinks in his armor. He’s got everything.”

Maybe so, but the 23-year-old Howell also has a fairly large posse on his tail.

K.J. Choi birdied the last hole to put the finishing touches on a 67 and moved into third at seven-under 207, four behind Howell. Rich Beem followed up his second-round 65 with a 69 and is tied for fourth with defending champion Len Mattiace at 207.

Faint hopes are shared by the four players who are six shots off the lead -- Steve Elkington, Jobe, Bob Estes and Angel Cabrera, who turned in a 65.

The Howell blueprint for today is to get off to a quick start, possibly something like making birdies at the first two holes, which is what he did Saturday. Howell kept telling himself to be patient, that the tournament still had a long way to go. He also grew more calm as the day went on, which is something he should wish for today.

Not getting rattled, avoiding any unsettling moments, that’s also part of Howell’s goal as he tries to close out a victory on what has turned out to be a demanding Riviera layout. If winning is as difficult as everyone says, it doesn’t become any easier if the greens are firm and the pins tucked only paces from the fringe.

Price said Riviera’s greens are close to being major championship quality, which makes the way Howell has handled them even more impressive.

Howell has admired Price for years and was grateful when Price encouraged him just before Howell sank an eagle putt at the 11th. That is typical Price, he said.

“Nick has always been this god, so to speak, in my life, in my book,” Howell said. “I could pattern myself after him quite easily.

“He’s got a career I wouldn’t be too upset having.”

Meanwhile, Price says he isn’t playing for any other reason except to win.

“I am not out here trying to make cuts and finish in the top 10, you know,” he said. “I feel I can still win.”

Choi, 31, is a Korean who lives in Houston and won twice last year when he made more than $2 million, so he’s sure about what he can accomplish on the course. And Beem did something Howell hasn’t, when he won the PGA Championship last year at Hazeltine with Woods applying the pressure the final day. And because Mattiace won here last year, he’s capable.

So for a lot of reasons, Howell has his work cut out for him, if you want to call it that.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Nissan Open Leaderboard

Third-round scores from the Nissan Open, played on the 7,221-yard, par-71 Riviera CC course:

*--* 1st 2nd 3rd Total Charles Howell III 69 65 68 202 -11 Nick Price 78 67 70 205 -8 K.J. Choi 70 69 67 206 -7 Rich Beem 73 65 69 207 -6 Len Mattiace 69 67 71 207 -6 OTHERS Steve Elkington 68 73 67 208 -5 Corey Pavin 72 68 70 210 -3 Fred Couples 74 68 69 211 -2 David Duval 69 70 73 212 -1 Tiger Woods 72 68 73 213 E Davis Love III 76 69 71 216 +3 Craig Stadler 76 69 76 221 +8

*--*

Today

Television coverage of the fourth round from

Riviera begins at 12:30 p.m. on Channel 7