Howell hopeful of cracking America

David Howell wants to show America what he is made of – starting tomorrow at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles.

The 31-year-old from Swindon is currently 17th in the world, but has yet to record a top-four finish on United States soil.

“I wasn’t ready five or six years ago to come and take my card over here,” said Howell. “I just wasn’t that good to try to play on both sides of the Atlantic.

“I didn’t play as well as I would have liked in general over here last year. I did keep my card obviously, which was pleasing, but my position in the world is not about making cuts – it’s about threatening and winning tournaments.

“I never really came close to that last year, but there were enough signs that I could compete over here and I’m just obviously looking forward to taking that step this year and really contending down the stretch and hopefully picking up an event or two.”

Staying away from the injuries that have regularly interrupted his career is obviously a key to the success the Ryder Cup star is hoping for.

“It was quite well documented towards the end of last year that I probably played too much and was sort of going from week to week with different ailments that held me back a little bit.

“I took six weeks off and didn’t hit a shot over the winter before coming back at Dubai. I was a little rusty there, but my body felt quite well.

“Overall my body is feeling, for me, good. I have no excuses this week.

“And it’s up to me to sort of manage my year well and try and stay away from the problems that I’ve had in previous years to allow me to play at the level that I know I can.

“All in all, things are going well, but I’m sure it’s going to be a continuous battle for me.”

Although Tiger Woods has decided not to play at Riviera and will instead go for an eighth successive US Tour win at the Accenture world match play in Tucson this week, eight of the world’s top 10 are competing.

The only other absentee is Swede Henrik Stenson. Ernie Els, like Howell, makes his first start in America this year, while the field also includes Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Paul McGinley and Brian Davis.