SO FAR, A HOWELL-ING SUCCESS LONG-DRIVING LEADER SHOOTS 68, STRETCHES ADVANTAGE TO THREE.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

Nick Price remembers distinctly the first time he met Charles Howell III.

Both were working with instructor David Leadbetter in 1990 - Price as a 33-year-old, eight-year tour journeyman who was about to break through to win two PGA Championships and the British Open; Howell as a 10-year-old kid who couldn't be kept off the driving range.

``He was skinny and hit more balls than I have seen a kid in my life do,'' Price said.

These days, the still-slender Howell is hitting balls longer than most players on tour and, this week, straighter than most players in the Nissan Open.

He demonstrated that again Saturday at Riviera Country Club, expanding a one-shot lead to three shots with a 3-under-par 68 that got him to 11 under at 208 going into today's final round.

Price, again, got the memorable view, playing in the same final group with Howell - the first tour pairing for the former range mates - and losing ground while shooting under par.

``He doesn't look to have any chinks in his armor,'' said Price, whose 70 left him second at 205, a stroke ahead of K.J. Choi, who shot 67.

Blame Howell's excellence on high standards.

``I'll have to hit it straighter (today),'' he said after missing just five of 14 fairways, two by less than three yards and another because his drive landed in the greenside bunker on the 315-yard, par-4 10th hole.

Defending champion Len Mattiace (69) and Rich Beem (69) share fourth at 207, and four players are tied at 208, including Angel Cabrera, whose 65 matched the low round of the week.

``I had a very solid round,'' said Cabrera after equaling scores shot by Fred Funk, in taking the first-round lead, then Howell and Beem in the second round. ``Tomorrow is another day. I have to play solid. There is always a chance; one more round.''

Funk (70) and Canyon Country resident/former UCLA star Duffy Waldorf (70) were in a group of six at 209. Another former Bruin, 1994-95 Nissan champion Corey Pavin (70), was at 210 on a day top-ranked Tiger Woods could shoot no better than 74.

``It was one of those days where I just didn't quite feel the club,'' said Woods, who started his round with an out-of-bounds shot and finished tied for 28th at 213. ``I didn't feel where the club was, and to compound that, the breaks I got weren't exactly positive.''

But Woods finished smiling after a birdie on the 18th hole, and with good reason for the grin, it turned out.

``Steve (Williams, Woods' caddie) and I had a bet on the (18th) fairway,'' Woods said. ``If I parred, he was not caddying (today) and if I birdied, he was caddying. That's why he was throwing the club at me.''

Howell was throwing all of his 155 pounds into his tee shots and again astonishing the gallery, hitting long drives throughout the round and backing that up with another strong day on the greens.

``I am telling you, this guy has got everything,'' Price said. ``And I think, as he matures, he is going get better and better.''

Howell, making good on his plan to start fast Saturday, didn't waste time getting better. He just missed a long eagle putt on the 503-yard, par-5 first hole, then birdied the 463-yard, par-4 second hole, which played toughest on the course.

He added an eagle after hitting a 226-yard 4-iron to within 15 feet of the flagstick on the 564-yard, par-5 11th hole, took his lone bogey on No. 12 and parred the remaining six holes.

``To birdie the first two holes, that was really big for me,'' said Howell, whose only tour victory - at last year's Michelob Championship - came when he didn't take the lead until the final round.

``I had never played with a 36-hole lead before,'' he said of his third round Saturday, ``and it was different, especially playing against a robot.''

The robot shook off two front-nine bogeys and shot 3 under for his final 13 holes to remain atop the pack chasing Howell, but he admitted it could be a tough chase.

``The big thing is,'' Price said, ``this golf course is really hard to shoot low numbers. If I can post 67 or somewhere around there (today), then that is probably as low as I will be, unless I putt very, very well.''

Choi, who finished 23 under par in placing second behind Ernie Els in the season-opening Mercedes Championships, had five birdies against one bogey to earn a spot in today's final group with Price and Howell.

Mattiace also could be a factor, after his seventh consecutive round of par or better at Riviera, a course where he said he felt comfortable even before winning last year. He shot 69-65-67-68 in that victory and is 69-67-71 for this week.

``He played good,'' Howell said of Mattiace, who was in the final group with Howell and Price on Saturday. ``He hung in there. He never really got going like I expected him to, but he played a good round of golf and made a lot of par saves. He is one of those players that really stays. He can get hot and get going.''

That's the strategy Beem is counting on, and he knows about getting hot and getting going after winning the International and PGA Championship in consecutive starts last year. Beem also knows he will have to catch a tournament leader who already is hot.

``He is playing well,'' Beem said of Howell. ``He's had it going for a few rounds now. But you've seen it before. One player has it going for the first three rounds and then in the fourth round they kind of level off. So I'll need to play well (today), and I'll definitely need some help from Charles to win.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Above, Charles Howell III, hitting out of a sand trap on the 10th, stretched his lead from one stroke to three with a 3-under-par 68 on Saturday at Riviera Country Club. At left, Len Mattiace, who uses some body English to help his shot out of the bunker on the 10th hole, is tied for fourth with Rich Beem.

(3) With his caddie, Brendan McCartain, Charles Howell III inspects his lie on the 12th green during third-round action.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(4) no caption (Nissan leader Charles Howell III)

Box:

(1) From the FRINGE

(2) LEADERBOARD