Veteran golf agent Rocky Hambric has won a multimillion-dollar settlement in his lawsuit against former client Charles Howell III and the agency Howell left Hambric for, IMG. Now Hambric is hopeful he will get his reputation back.

The two sides reached the settlement after "11 grueling hours" of a court-ordered mediation last month attended by Hambric, his lawyers, IMG attorneys and Howell, Hambric said.

Hambric said he will receive a payment but will not pay Howell or IMG, who had filed a countersuit against him. Hambric wouldn't disclose the amount of the settlement, saying only that it was for millions of dollars.

Hambric sued Howell in January 2002 after the young golfer fired him a little more than one year into a five-year representation deal. During that time, Hambric signed Howell to a 2-year, $2 million-a-year endorsement deal with Callaway Golf, which has since been extended.

As part of the settlement, Hambric will be a consultant on the deal with Callaway Golf through 2008.

Hambric later added Howell's new agency, IMG, as well as Howell's golf instructor, David Leadbetter, to the suit, charging that they interfered with a contractual relationship with Howell. The lawsuit, which was filed in Orlando district court, was dismissed as a result of the settlement. Leadbetter is not a party to the settlement, but there has been a release of Leadbetter from any further litigation, Hambric said.

Howell, through a spokeswoman, said the settlement "is fair to both sides."

A spokeswoman with IMG said: "Rocky Hambric filed a lawsuit against Charles Howell to attempt to salvage his reputation, which had been compromised by a high-profile client leaving his agency. The financial settlement that was reached at mediation was consistent with equitable compensation for a repayment of a loan to Howell, as well as allowing participation in ongoing Callaway commissions, which, quite candidly, he probably would have received in good faith negotiations with his ex-client.

"Howell is happy with the settlement and with the fact that this contentious affair is now behind him."

The IMG spokeswoman had no further comment.

Hambric said, "It was an amicable settlement. Charles and I shook hands and said, 'No hard feelings.' He was a man about it. He stepped right up and faced the music."

Settlements of lawsuits are often confidential. But Hambric said, "One of the things that was important to me is there would not be a confidentiality clause. They couldn't pay enough money to justify my loss of reputation."

Hambric, who has been an agent for 26 years, said he never sued a client before, but his lawsuit against Howell was used against him by other agents in recruiting top prospects. Because the suit was going on, Hambric could not talk about it with the golfers he was trying to recruit for the last two years.

"It has been devastating to me from a recruiting standpoint," Hambric said. "I had already gone through two recruiting classes with that hanging over my head. It killed me."

Hambric said he felt forced to file the suit. Howell terminated Hambric with "four years left on a five-year deal that was very back-ended," he said. Worse, Howell did not repay a loan that Hambric made to him, he said.

Now, Hambric said he can talk about the dispute and thinks the fact he received a settlement will put the lawsuit in a different light among those golfers he recruits in the future.

"In the final analysis, when you get a settlement like that, you have to say the guy had a valid reason to file a lawsuit and you shouldn't hold that against him," he said. "If you don't have the nerve to stand up for yourself, what business do you have asking someone else to put their business affairs in your hands?"

Hambric Sports Management represents 19 golfers, including Justin Leonard, Lorena Ochoa, Bob Tway and Bob Estes. Hambric formerly owned Cornerstone Sports, which represented Phil Mickelson, but he sold that company in 1998 to Gaylord Entertainment, which has since become Gaylord Sports Management. He started Hambric Sports in 2000, and Howell was one of his most important signings in starting his new firm.