SWINDON’S David Howell recorded a level-par round on day three as he continues his steady progress at The Open.

Howell made the cut late on Thursday as his under-par round early on saw him climb up the leaderboard while he was sat in the clubhouse.

The 41-year-old teed off at 11.10am at Royal Troon alongside world number one Jason Day, as he sat two over par going into the third round.

Howell made a consistent start to his round scoring par on the opening three holes before picking up his first birdie of the day on the par-five fourth.

Howell hit five consecutive pars to go out in a score of 35 and continued that form after the turn with four more level holes.

The Broome Manor pro picked up his second shot of the day as he took just two shots on the par-three 14th.

However, he handed that shot back immediately as he bogeyed the par-four 15th to move back to one under par for the day and one over par for the tournament.

However, a second dropped shot of the tournament on the par-four 18th meant he was unable to record his second successive one-under-par round and had to settle for a score of 71.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson went level with leader Phil Mickelson after birdying the opening hole, with both out on course in the final pairing.