David Howell is a professional golfer and broadcaster who has enjoyed a long and successful journey through the game. Discover more about his life and career via these facts.
DAVID HOWELL FACTS
1. His full name is David Alexander Howell.
2. Howell was born in Swindon, England on June 23, 1975.
3. He is married to Emily, and the pair have three children.
4. He grew up training and competing at Broome Manor Golf Club in Swindon where he now has a suite and cafe named in his honor - the David Howell Bar is inside the clubhouse while 'Howellers' offers refreshments just next door.
5. Howell won the 1993 Boys Amateur Championship, defeating Sweden's Viktor Gustavsson 3&1 in the final.
6. Elsewhere in his amateur career, Howell represented Great Britain and Ireland at both the 1993 Jacques Leglise Trophy and the 1995 Walker Cup squad.
7. Howell turned professional in 1995 and joined the European Tour in 1996 after coming through Q-School.
8. His first professional victory was at the 1998 Australian PGA Championship, where he won by seven strokes.
9. Howell's debut success on the European Tour arrived at the 1999 Dubai Desert Classic. He beat Lee Westwood by four strokes.
10. Howell twice represented Team Europe at the Ryder Cup. He went to the 2004 (Oakland Hills) and 2006 (The K Club) competitions, securing 3.5 points from five matches in total as Europe won both.
11. In 2005, Howell won two European Tour titles - the BMW International Open and the HSBC Champions. The latter was the first-ever HSBC Champions event and saw Howell defeat then World No.1 Tiger Woods by three strokes in Shanghai. That same year, Howell also lost in two playoffs - at the Dunlop Masters (to Thomas Bjorn) and in the Irish Open (to Stephen Dodd).
12. The biggest victory of Howell's career arrived when he won the 2006 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by five strokes (-17).
13. Howell has seven total professional victories, with his last on the European Tour arriving at the 2015 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Howell beat Peter Uihlein in a playoff at St Andrews - his only career success over extra holes (1-4).
14. The highest OWGR spot of Howell's career was ninth, in 2006.
15. In January 2017, Howell succeeded Thomas Bjorn as chairman of the European Tour's tournament committee.
16. Howell is the leading appearance holder of all time on the DP World Tour, with 725. When he passed 700 starts in August 2022, Howell become the youngest man ever to do so. Only Miguel Angel Jimenez, Sam Torrance, and Soren Kjeldsen have made it past 700 European Tour starts in their career.
17. He has earned over $15 million in prize money throughout his career.
18. Howell's best-ever finish at a Major was T7th at the 2008 Open Championship. He made 27 starts at Majors, overall, twice finishing in the top-20 at The Masters (three starts).
19. He made 34 starts at non-Major events sanctioned by the PGA Tour throughout his career.
20. Howell has become a member of the Sky Sports Golf team and is regularly on commentary duty for some of the biggest events - including all four Major championships.
