10:30am Thursday 17th September 2009
DAVID Howell has an opportunity to bounce back from another disappointing performance when he tees off at the Austrian Open today, writes CHRIS SMITH.
The 34-year-old finished on one under par in last week’s Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne, but was unhappy with his performance and is looking for a big improvement in Vienna.
He said: “Last week was not a very good week really. I drove the ball badly and struggled to hit the greens regularly enough which was not great considering how thick the rough was on that course.
“It ended up being a week of digging in so I was quite proud of ending up one under.”
While he was disappointed with the way he played, Howell was keen to take the positives from his performance in Cologne.
Howell, pictured right, said: “My short game was pretty good, and I hit the ball fairly accurately to set up a few birdie putts.
“I also putted ok, which has always been my strength, so hopefully that’s coming together again now.”
Looking ahead to today’s proceedings, Howell is confident he can banish the memory of his only other appearance in Vienna.
He said: “I missed the cut there last year, and didn’t play terribly well.
“It is a lovely, well conditioned course and there are some good greens there too.
“It might be a bit different this time because it’s being played later in the year than it was last year, but it’s a good forecast so I’m looking forward to it.
“Most importantly, I’m hoping to drive a lot better than I did last week, so that I’m putting for birdies regularly rather than for par.”
The Broome Manor member, who has been notoriously injury prone over recent years, believes he is in the best possible shape ahead of the tournament.
He said: “My latest niggle has been in my left shoulder but that’s cleared up now so there are no excuses for Vienna.”
The field for the tournament is missing many household names, and Howell believes this will play into his hands as he bids to make an impression at the right end of the leaderboard.
He said: “It’s not the strongest field for one reason or another so that gives me an opportunity.
“The fact that there are fewer big names playing could make it slightly easier for me to get a decent finish, but it’s obviously still going to be tough.
“If I play well there’s no reason why I can’t finish somewhere in the top 10.”
Howell tees off at 12.40pm local time (11.40am BST) and is drawn with Richard Green and Alex Cejka.
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