A BIRDIE at the penultimate hole ensured David Howell finished the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic under par this afternoon.
Swindon ace Howell played steadily throughout the day but only got in red numbers for the first time with one hole to play, helping him finish with a one-under 71.
Teeing off from the tenth, the Broome Manor pro enjoyed a less than stellar start and opened up with a bogey five.
A run of seven pars followed before Howell eventually got back level with a birdie just before the turn.
Howell was soon back over par after a bogey at the next but that was eradicated by another birdie on his 12th hole.
From there it was plain sailing for Howell and a birdie on his 17th before a par at the last allowed him to post just his second under-par round of the fledgling season.
He is still some way off the lead, however, and is seven shots adrift of Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, who got under way with an eight-under 64.
Howell gets his second round under way early tomorrow morning, teeing off at 3.55am UK time.
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