Wiltshire | Archive | 2008 | April | 5
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Saturday 5th Apr 2008.
DAVID Howell made a sparkling return to form at the Portuguese Open yesterday, closing his second round on seven under par, just seven shots off the halfway lead.
The Swindon ace, who has missed his last three cuts in succession, followed Thursday's opening round of 67 with a solid three under par 68 to head into the weekend in joint seventh place.
Working this week with new swing coach Jamie Gough, Howell appears to have finally emerged from the doldrums after a wretched run which has seen him slump to number 237 in the world.
Howell told the Swindon Advertiser: "It's been a decent day. The way things have been going I can't complain and it's now just a case of working hard and trying to have more good days.
"I'm in the top 10 heading into the third day so it's going pretty well.
"It's the first week with the new coach and we've been working on new things. He's here with us all week and I'm sure he's got plenty of advice for me.
"I'm feeling a little bit better about things and have drove the ball really well, which obviously has been a problem for me recently.'' The 32-year-old appears to have ironed out the creases in his swing which have led to early finishes in his last three tournaments.
Howell hit 20 out of 23 fairways on the opening two days in Estoril, and he will look to his ever-dependable short game to stay in touch with the leaders over the weekend.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008