Charles Howell III hopes to clinch third win at The RSM Classic

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Charles Howell III’s career is a Rorschach test of golf success.

His incredible consistency is impressive to some. Others can’t look past the lack of wins.

He’s earned more than $35 million in almost two decades as a pro. He’s never lost his card and has qualified for every edition of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Howell has finished in the top 3 in 27 PGA TOUR events. Only two of those are wins, though. He won for the first time in his second full season, in an event that no longer exists. His second win was more than a decade ago. It’s a surprisingly small amount of victories for someone who turned pro after a dominant performance in the NCAA Championship and who finished third in his third PGA TOUR start as a pro.

“I've talked about it forever,” he said. “I thought I would have won more by now.”

He has a chance to end his drought Sunday. Howell will start the final round of The RSM Classic with a one-stroke lead over rookie Cameron Champ and 44-year-old Jason Gore, who earned his insurance license last week.

Howell started Saturday with a three-shot lead after back-to-back 64s. He led by as many as five before walking off the 18th green with just a one-shot advantage. Saturday’s 68 gave him a career-best 54-hole score of 196.

He was pleased with how he handled the nerves Saturday. On Sunday, he must fend off a bevvy of challengers on a Seaside Course that allows low scores. Nine players trail him by five or fewer shots.

“There’s nothing to protect,” Howell said. “This golf course really isn’t going to lend itself to that mentality.”

The Seaside Course played to a 67.5 scoring average on Saturday. Patrick Rodgers shot 61. Seven players shot lower than 65.

Four of this tournament’s eight champions shot 64 or lower in the final round, including a 60 (Tommy Gainey, 2012) and two 63s.

Champ has been the breakout star of the fall season. He won the Sanderson Farms Championship and has ranked in the top 10 after 12 of his past 15 rounds. Fourteen of his past 16 rounds have been in the 60s. His unprecedented length allows him to navigate the Seaside Course by hitting long-iron off almost all of the tees. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, as well.

Gore’s lone PGA TOUR win was 13 years ago but he is playing with the freedom of someone who shouldn’t even be here. He didn’t receive a sponsor exemption until Sunday evening. On the way to the airport, he expressed doubts about flying across the country for his first start of the season. The logo on his hat and bag are of the insurance company he started three years ago with his wife and a friend.

“I love being a dad, I love being home, I like doing what we’re doing,” Gore said. “We have a great new house and I have a great wife and two great kids, and it’s nice to wake up every morning and take them to school and not here, ‘Hey Dad, thanks for stopping by.’

“I’ve been out here 20-something years. No matter what happens, I’m good with it.”

Where does Howell fit in with the wunderkind and the retiree who will join him in Sunday’s final group?

“I’ll be a disgruntled 39-year-old right in the middle,” he joked. There are few players who can match Howell’s enthusiasm for the game, though. He is enthralled with the unceasing quest for improvement that his profession requires.

For Howell, Sunday isn’t just an opportunity to win. It’s a chance to assess how his game withstands the pressure.

“I’m most excited to see how I handle tomorrow because I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Howell said. “Nobody does.”

This is the sixth time he’s held a 54-hole lead. He has never turned one into a victory. He has the chance to change that.

“It’s the same reason Bernhard Langer’s playing. The carrot is always dangled out there in this game,” he said. “In golf, it’s always out there. You know you’re just one day away.”