Charles Howell III was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia and grew up watching the Masters. Qualifying for the Masters is very high up on his list of goals every year.
He is currently ranked outside the Top-50, at No. 57 on the Official World Golf Rankings and is ineligible for an invite to the 2013 Masters.
He has qualified for the Masters on eight occasions throughout his career and had one of his best finishes last year, a T-19, which was just outside earning an automatic invitation to the 2013 Masters.
He is No. 8 in the FedEx Cup Standings with $1.2 million in earnings this year. In his 13 years on the PGA Tour, Howell has won two PGA Tour titles and over $25 million.
He is one of the hottest golfers in the world right now with three top-10 finishes in 2013, including a runner-up at the Humana and a T-9 at Torrey Pines.
Howell even beat Tiger Woods in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in February. We all know how well Woods is playing this year with three wins and regaining his world No. 1 ranking from Rory McIlroy.
We saw a similar situation as recently as last year when Ernie Els fell outside the Top-50 and did not qualify for the 2012 Masters.
This begs the question, are the Official World Golf Rankings skewed too heavily toward some of the lesser tours?
The Sunshine, Asian, Australian and Japan Golf Tours get hefty world ranking points that allow international players to qualify for WGC and major tournaments when other players may be more qualified.
Golf’s ruling bodies want international participation and exposure to promote golf worldwide. International players that earn entry into the world’s largest events, help grow the game.
The answer then becomes quite simple. Players that play primarily in the states and on the PGA Tour need to venture outside their comfort zone and play in some of these international events where the competition may not be as formidable, to gain valuable world ranking points.
Charles Howell III can still rectify his situation. A high finish this week will move him inside the Top-50 and into the Masters.
He is a veteran and knows the ins and outs of the golf world.
In the immortal words of Al Davis, Just Win Baby!!