DAVID Howell will be hoping to rediscover the form that has served him so well of late when he tees off at the Italian Open in Turin this afternoon.

The Broome Manor pro made nine successive cuts prior to last week and was often in the hunt at the top of the leaderboard during that time, the closest he came to victory being a fourth-placed finish at the French Open in July.

A 70 and a 76 at the KLM Open in the Netherlands last week will be quickly forgotten if the Swindon star can sink a few birdies in Italy today, where he tees alongside Richard S. Johnson and Peter Hedblom at 1.30pm local time (12.30pm GMT).

Howell has been one of the busier players on the European Tour this year having turned out at 22 tournaments, which has enabled him to elevate himself to 72nd in the Race to Dubai.

And four solid rounds this weekend will do the rejuvenated Englishman no harm at all as he looks to crack the top 50.

Meanwhile, the European Tour has announced that the Andalucía Masters, due to be played at Valderrama next month, has been cancelled. George O’Grady, the tour's chief executive, said: “This is extremely disappointing news, especially at such a late date.”