By Art Spander
PGATOUR.com Contributor

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Baronial mansions above coastal canyons, a membership that included Humphrey Bogart and, dare we say it, O.J. Simpson. A course so historic and challenging that the great Bobby Jones played here, he was moved to remark, "Excellent, but tell me, where do the members play?"

Riviera Country Club, where Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead and Tom Watson all won, and where the little guy was so dominant, in the event once known as the Los Angeles Open and also in the 1948 U.S. Open, the place was nicknamed "Hogan’s Alley."

But when Charles Howell III shows up at Riviera, he doesn’t think of celebrities or geography. He considers history. Unfortunately, his own.

Howell began the 2006 Nissan Open as spectacularly as possible Thursday, with an eagle 3 on that opening 505-yard par 5 which starts from the top of a cliff practically inches from the ageless pink, stucco Spanish-style clubhouse. And he came up with a 3-under 69, the same score with which he began in 2003.

He went on to lose a playoff to Mike Weir that year, though. After leading the third round by three shots, he shot a 2-over 73 on the final 18, compared to Weir’s 66.

The playoff started, and ended, on the captivating and irritating 10th hole, a par 4 which at 315 yards entices the man on the tee to try and drive the green. And indeed, while Weir laid up, Howell did try, and his tee shot plopped into a bunker 31 yards from the pin.

He followed that with one of the most memorable sand shots ever, to within 6 feet of the cup, and followed that with one of the most forgettable putts ever, a yank, that followed Weir’s 8-foot birdie.

It would be one of the six second-place finishes for the 26-year-old Howell, against a single victory in a PGA TOUR career beginning a sixth year. “I always think of that bunker shot on the 10th,’’ Howell said. “Sure. It was the tee shot I wanted to forget, and a bunker shot I want to remember. But they were good memories. I had a chance to win.”

When he turned pro in 2000 a short while after winning the NCAA individual championship at Oklahoma State, Howell was expected to be one of the best. And in ’02, he was ninth in earnings, which definitely could be described as meeting expectations.

He was 29th in 2005 after 33rd in 2004, and while his total earnings are beyond $10 million, hardly chump change, as the pro football guys like to say, he has only that one year in the top 10 on the money list.

“No,’’ he said, “I’m not pleased. But at the same time, yeah, I’m not beating myself up either, because I’m working as hard as I can work. I’m doing the right things, and eventually it will come around for me.”

Howell said his short game has prevented upward mobility. “If you asked me a year ago, I would have said my short game wasn’t good enough. I’ve spent a tremendous lot of time on that. Look at the top five players in the world. They’ve all got fantastic short games, and I need to continue to improve.

“But my game is good enough to win. I just have to do it.’’

What he did Thursday was arise at 4:30 a.m., hit balls on the range -- “Thank goodness for lights,’’ he said -- and then at 7 a.m. become the second player, behind Shigeki Maruyama to hit away

“It was very cold,’’ Howell said. “Fortunately I had that downhill par 5. If there’s a hole you want to tee off on when you’re real cold, it’s that one." When he hit his approach 18 feet from the pin and sank the putt, Howell warmed up, at least mentally.

“It’s nice to get under par and to keep it going,’’ he said. “So far this year, I’ve made all the cuts (four tournaments), but I haven’t scored that well, haven’t gotten anything rolling, any momentum. I was just happy to hang in there.’’

That’s the key in golf, the key in any sport. Maybe this time Hogan’s Alley becomes Howell’s Thoroughfare.