DAVID Howell is hoping that he can use the Dubai Desert Classic as the springboard to get his season going.

The Swindon ace is out in Kuala Lumpur for the Mabank Malaysian Open this week looking to build on making his first cut of the 2015 season.

While the Broome Manor pro knows that there is still plenty of room for improvement, he says that it is going in the right direction.

“It hasn’t been the best of starts, but after taking a bit of advice from a coach ahead of the Dubai tournament, I felt I hit the ball a lot better,” Howell told the Advertiser.

The 39-year-old’s opening two tournaments saw him miss the cut in Abu Dhabi and then the Qatar Masters.

But four solid rounds in Dubai saw Howell finish tied 25th to earn his first prize money of the year.

Having finished 11 under par in the Emirates, Howell is looking forward to returning to the course where he finished tied sixth two years ago.

Howell will be in the third round of players teeing off from the first tee on Thursday morning (8am local time, midnight GMT) alongside Jyoti Randhawa from India and Australian Andrew Dodt.

“We have been coming here for quite a few years now so it is a course that I know pretty well,” he said.

“Coming here doesn’t fill me with dread anymore and it is a course that I have enjoyed a bit of success on too.

“Yes, the conditions will suit the local players better and the greens can be a little grainy, but there are no excuses.

“I’m looking forward to it and hopefully building on last week.”

Howell feels that although he did not work too much on his game over the winter the break was just as beneficial.

“Over the winter there were things for me to work on, but it just didn’t pan out like that,” he said.

“But it is just as important to get in a good break – that can be just as constructive.

“There are so many aspects to your game that you have to focus on and now that I have had my first reasonable result of the year there is something to build on.”