Howl wins PCC championship

Jason Howl was a man of few words on Monday.

He was also a man of few strokes over the weekend, and the result was a seven-stroke victory in the Portales County Club Championship.

“It felt good,” Howl said. “It was a good feeling.”

Howl, who spent most of his childhood in Portales but eventually went to high school in Carlsbad, shot a 68 on both Saturday and Sunday, then put the rest of the field away with a 6-under 66 in Monday’s final round for a three-day total of 202.

In all, Howl had three of the top four rounds for the weekend. The other round, a second-day 68, was turned in by Kevin Welch. Welch, who finished seven strokes behind Howl with a 209, was seven strokes better than third-place finisher Bobby Crane.

Howl’s secret?

“Just playing hole by hole,” he said.

Winners in other flights were Jerry Knoll (228 to win the first flight), Rick Short (234, second), Joe Hartmann (239, third) and Marvin Foster (280, fourth).

The next tournament at the PCC is the Doug Stone Tournament, scheduled for Aug. 13-15.