DAVID Howell was today well-placed to make the cut at the China Open before his second round commences tomorrow.

The Broome Manor pro carded a two-under-par round of 70 at Binhai Lake and is due to tee off at 12.55am GMT tomorrow (7.55am local time) with Oliver Wilson and Rory Hie.

It was a curious opening 18 holes for the Swindon star, beginning and finishing disappointingly, with all the low scoring done in the middle of the round.

A dropped shot at the par-four first and the par-five second had seemed to set the tone for an off-colour round, but it was not to be.

Three pars later, Howell picked up a shot with a four at the sixth and a birdie two at the eighth ensured he reached the turn at level par.

Matters continued to improve on the back nine, with a birdie at the 10th being followed by another on the par-five 12th.

The ex-Ryder Cup man even moved to four-under at one stage, but a bogey on the 18th saw him slip back to two-under-par.

Matthew Baldwin held the lead at the end of the first day’s play yesterday with a seven-under-par 65, which gave him a one-shot lead.

Baldwin birdied of the first 11 holes and an approach to within six feet at the 17th brought him his seventh gain.

Meanwhile, 13-year-old amateur Guan Tian-lang became the youngest player in European Tour history as he hit a five-over-par round of 77.