DAVID Howell is desperate to recapture some form at the French Open as his season continues to stutter.

It has been a tough year for the two-time Ryder Cup winner, who has struggled to come back from a mysterious foot injury which forced him to pull out of the Maybank Championship in Malaysia back in February.

Since then it has been a stop-start season, he was a place off a top 30 spot in the Lyonesses Open in Austria when he finished one under.

Howell was happy with his efforts in Austria but was unable to follow that up in Germany last week at the BMW International Open. Targeting to improve on his week in Atzenbrugg, the Broome Manor pro endured two rounds of two-over-par, despite both rounds including a run of three successive birdies.

The 41-year-old will now hope to put that behind him as he heads to the French Open in the midst of a frantic month, where he will play four tournaments in as many weeks.

The French Open is a chance for him to build some momentum if wants to keep his hopes of qualifying for the DP World Tour Championships alive.

Howell is ranked 165 in the Race to Dubai rankings and will need to finish inside the top 60 to make the end-of-year finale.

He is due to tee off at 8am BST today alongside Frenchman Gary Stal and Australia’s Scott Hend.