Charles Howell III raised eyebrows when he ditched his PGA Tour home for the riches of the LIV Golf breakaway last summer.
Not because the American player was jeopardising any hopes of making USA's Ryder Cup team like big-name LIV recruits Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau. Or that the 43-year-old was a serial winner with a realistic chance of claiming a maiden major title before defecting to the Saudi-backed series.
But Howell's move was more surprising than most because he had long been regarded as a deep-seated staple of the American circuit that had offered him such a lucrative career spanning two decades.
The world No.312 was the picture of consistency as he raked in a staggering $42million (£35m) in 609 events during 22 years on the PGA Tour. With just three wins, Howell proved that silverware and stardom was not the only route to success in golf as he banked huge sums with almost 100 top-tens and a further 16 runner-up finishes.
But while Howell stressed last year that his LIV move was not money-motivated, the alacrity of his earnings on his new tour can still go some way to explaining his defection.
He had not won since 2018 on the PGA Tour and his three victories earned him a combined £2.3m during his long career on the circuit. But now, after reigning supreme at LIV's £21m opening event at Mayakoba in Mexico, Howell has almost doubled that sum in one fell swoop.
Howell fired a flawless final-round 63 to claim his first title in just his sixth LIV event, and in doing so, claimed a remarkable top individual prize of £3.3m. His fine performance in the invitational also led his 'Crushers GC' team, captained by compatriot DeChambeau, to glory in the team event.
With LIV placing a heavy emphasis on its team concept, Howell could also add another £625,000 to his winnings from the mammoth shared prize pot as he banked almost £4m for three days of tournament golf.
Howell admitted after his victory that he was unsure he would ever win again before coming out on top in LIV's 48-man field at El Camaleon Golf Club.
“I've played a lot of golf tournaments in my life, and I haven't won a lot of them, and you have the doubts and the feelings, will you ever win again,” he said. “To do it against this competition with these guys standing up here around is more than I could ever dream of. I'm extremely thankful.”
