SWINDON'S David Howell is on the bubble of missing the cut for a third week after an opening round of 72 at the Nordea Masters.

Having missed the cut at the BMW PGA Championship, followed by the same fate at the Irish Open last week, Howell would have been looking to get his good form back on track this week.

The Broome Manor pro got off to the perfect start at the PGA Sweden National today as he birdied the par-five first.

However Howell was back to level par immediately as he dropped a shot on the par-four second.

Another birdie on the par-four fifth put the 39-year-old back under par before bogies on the seventh and ninth holes saw Howell go out in 37.

Howell looked in trouble when he dropped another shot on the par-five 11th to put him two over par and well down the field.

But Howell recovered well and birdies on the 14th and 18th returned him to level par and five shots off the overnight leader, Sweden's Jens Dantorp.

Howell will tee off at 7.10am in tied 60th position tomorrow knowing that he will need a sub-par round to ensure he is in the tournament for the weekend.