Howell hopes to get back on track

Current European number one David Howell is keen to stress that technical glitches in his swing and stance have been to blame for his off-colour start to 2006, rather than a big head.

A seminal defeat of world number one Tiger Woods in a head-to-head at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai last November boosted his ranking, his profile but not, according to the softly-spoken Swindon man, his ego.

The 30-year-old has begun the new calendar year poorly. He did not look himself at the Royal Trophy in Thailand three weeks ago and then missed the cut by four shots at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship last weekend.

Howell tees off at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters today, aiming to get back on track and debunking the Woods myth.

He said: “[Beating Tiger] jumped me up the world rankings a little bit and everyone is perhaps at little bit more aware of me, but I would not say anything has changed from my end. It’s not life-changing.

“After such a good end to last year, I thought I would give myself a break so I had three solid weeks off before the Royal Trophy, which I had not done for a few years.”