Howell Turns It Around

In his last four tournaments, here is the line of Charles Howell III: missed cut, missed cut, withdrew, missed cut. That’s not exactly trending in the right direction, so Howell said his two-under-par 70 Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Championship was a welcome change.

“I haven’t had a round under par in about two months,” he said. “It didn’t come a moment too soon.”

Howell, 27, was second at New Orleans, three weeks after a spectacular flameout at the Masters, where he missed the cut with rounds of 80-84. He said he’s using a new set of prototype Callaway irons that he just put in his bag.

He has gone back to the same putter he used to win his only PGA Tour event, the 2002 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, “however many decades ago that was.”

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Chris Riley caught some flak at the 2004 Ryder Cup when Hal Sutton, the U.S. captain, said Riley didn’t want to play in an alternate-shot match. The comment was taken to mean that Riley wasn’t confident, but Riley said that wasn’t true then and still isn’t true.

“My experience in the Ryder Cup was by far the best experience I’ve ever had in golf. And what Hal Sutton said, or what was said by the media, it didn’t bother me at all. I mean, me and Tiger [Woods] had a pretty good chemistry out there, but I’d never played alternate shot and I would have been willing to play.

“But like I said, I had a baby the week before that, and as you all know, with a baby, you don’t get much sleep. So all I said was, I’ll go, but I’m a little tired. That was pretty much it.”

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Olin Browne used a six-iron for a slam-dunk hole in one Thursday at the 197-yard 17th. It’s the fifth ace at the PGA Championship since 2003 and his third in a major.

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Jerry Kelly is not exactly the most even-tempered of players, but his explosiveness and fire are two reasons why Tom Lehman is considering choosing him for the Ryder Cup as a captain’s pick.

Kelly, three over after the first four holes, had six birdies the rest of the way and rescued his round, with a two-under 70.

As for his slow start, Kelly said he was playing aggressively and felt positive about it. “I knew I wasn’t playing badly. I just had to be patient,” he said.

“What happened is going to make me stronger, knowing I have it inside me to do what needs to be done.”

Meanwhile, Stewart Cink’s four-under 68 was a decent start for a player who needs to finish second this week to break into the top 10 and qualify for the Ryder Cup team. Cink said he hasn’t spoken to Lehman about being a captain’s pick.

“He did mention to me that he was really hoping that I would move into the top 10.... He really wants me to qualify for the team. I think I understand what he means by that, that he doesn’t want to be forced to make me a pick, because he’s probably got somebody else in mind ahead of me, I guess.”