SWINDON’S David Howell has left himself with work to do after day one in Dubai if he is to get the top four finish he was aiming for.

The 40-year-old sits six shots off the pace after an opening round of 72 at the DP World Tour Championship.

The Broome Manor pro got off to a fine start at the Jumeirah Golf Estates course as he birdied the opening two holes.

However, as has been the case too often for Howell this season, he followed that up with dropped shots on three and four to return to level par.

Howell was back in the red when he picked up a shot on the par-five seventh but finished the front nine level after another dropped shot on the par-four ninth.

The two-time Ryder Cup winner went into plus figures for the first time when he bogeyed the par-four 12th, but was able to recover two holes later with a birdie-four on the 14th.

Marcus Fraser, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter and Andy Sullivan may not be able to win The Race to Dubai but they did their chances of winning the final tournament on the calendar with opening rounds of 66 to lead the way.

Howell begins his second round alongside Marc Warren at 5.10am (GMT) tomorrow.