8:00am Friday 22nd August 2008
By Gareth Moorhouse
DAVID Howell may need an injection of Dutch courage tomorrow if he wants to secure a weekend stay in the picturesque seaside resort of Zandvoort.
The Swindon golfer made a stuttering start to his challenge at the KLM Open yesterday, carding an opening round of 72 to lose touch with the early leaders.
Starting from the 10th tee, Howell found the going tough at the Kennemer Golf & Country Club on his first outing on the European Tour for almost three weeks.
A dropped shot at his opening hole set the tone for a difficult morning, which was punctuated by four other bogeys and just three birdies.
Howell’s solitary birdie of his front nine came at the par-five 12th, but bogeys at 16 and 17 saw him reach the turn in two over par.
The man from Broome Manor slipped further adrift with a bogey at the first, before hitting straight back with a morale-boosting birdie just one hole later.
The up and down pattern continued on Howell’s inward nine however as he closed on two over par, eight shots adrift of first round leader Rolf Muntz.
Justin Rose took another step towards winning his first Ryder Cup cap – but only after a night when he wondered if he was ever going to get to sleep.
Although Dutchman Muntz was the star of the opening round of six under par 64, Rose is among those chasing him hard.
Having pulled out of the FedEx Cup first leg in America to try to clinch his debut, the world number 12 had a bogey-free 67.
“Now I’m looking forward to an afternoon nap,” said Rose, joint ninth at the US PGA two weeks ago.
“It must have been three o’clock when I got to sleep – I had a coffee at dinner and there must have been rocket fuel in it.
“I wasn’t as rested as I would have liked, but I got away with it.
“I didn’t play particularly well, but I guess I managed it well.”
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