DAVID Howell brought the curtain down on this year’s European Tour campaign as he finished tied 42nd at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai yesterday.

The 39-year-old Swindon star, who finished 53rd in the Race to Dubai standings, slipped down the leaderboard on the final day of competition at the Jumeirah Golf Estates after carding a two-over-par round of 74.

Howell got off to a less-than-ideal start as he shot three bogies on the opening four holes of his final round, finishing one over par five times during his opening nine and carding a lone birdie at the second.

The Broome Manor pro did manage to claw back the deficit on the back nine, with three more birdies, but Howell finished with another bogie on the 18th as he was deadlocked in 42nd alongside the likes of Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ross Fisher, as Henrik Stenson won the season-ending competition for the second successive year.

Howell’s season highlight saw him finish second at the Italian Open back in August whilst the Swindon ace also notched up a top-ten finish at the June’s Scandinavian Masters.