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Charles Howell III continues one of the PGA Tour's sneakiest—and impressive—streaks
Sam Greenwood
Barring an unforeseen late career push, Charles Howell III will not make the World Golf Hall of Fame. But when it comes to making money on the PGA Tour, the veteran player is nearly in a class of his own.
Howell's T-53 at last week's WGC-Mexico Championship went largely unnoticed, but he didn't walk away empty handed, earning $39,100. So what? Well, that chunk of change took him to $1,022,917 in earnings for the season, pushing him over the $1 million mark for a 20th consecutive year.
Only Phil Mickelson has a longer such streak in PGA Tour history with 24 years. And the 49-year-old is in good shape to continue that after his solo third at Pebble Beach two weeks ago that moved him to $686,094 in earnings so far in 2019-2020.
Many predicted Howell would win more when he turned pro after a standout collegiate career at Oklahoma State that included him winning the Haskins Award as the nation's best player in 2000. But the fact that he "only" has three PGA Tour titles might make his consistent money making even more impressive.
Howell was made aware of his streak last year. While he's proud of his consistent play, he also knows he's been fortunate to avoid injuries.
"I don’t really think about it, I didn’t even know about it until I was asked about it earlier this year," Howell told GolfDigest.com in November. "But listen, I’ve been lucky to stay healthy and to play. I mean, there are a lot of great players out there, Tiger Woods being one of them, that, unfortunately, injuries kept him from doing that because he easily would have. But yeah, it’s something I’m proud of as far as consistency goes. Like I said, it does take a touch of good fortune and luck to keep doing it."
Howell looks to keep cashing in as he closes in on a big career earnings milestone. The 40-year-old is less then $300,000 away from crossing the $40 million mark. At this rate, that should only take him a few more weeks.