SWINDON’S David Howell failed to make the grade at the Omega European Masters after a one-under-par finish on the second day in Switzerland.

The two-time Ryder Cup winner had work to do after Thursday one over round of 71 left him languishing in the leader board.

Heading into the tournament Howell had complained of a slight shoulder problem, something that has been hassling him for a number of weeks.

On day two, the 43-year-old made a slow start with a bogey five on the opening hole, followed up with a second bogey on the par-four fourth.

With his place in the standings sinking, Howell was able to steady the ship with a back-to-back level-par scores, alongside a birdie-three on the seventh.

Into his back nine, there was still improvement to be made if the Swindon star was to book himself into the second half of the contest.

It looked as if the 43-year old former Brome Manor member was on the move with four level-pars, a birdie four at the 14th and a superb eagle on the par-five 15th.

However, Howell undid some of his good work a hole later as he recorded his third bogey of the day on the par-three 16th.

With two holes to go, the Swindon man was left wanting.

Back-to-back level-pars and a tally of one-under for the day was not enough to steer him through to the weekend.

Overall, Howell finished the tournament level-par, narrowly missing the out on the cut by a solitary shot.

Elsewhere, Laurie Canter had better fortunes as he finished tied 25th after an erratic second round in Switzerland.

Canter made a disastrous start with three bogeys in his opening four holes but a birdie-three on the fifth, followed up with a birdie four on the ninth went some way to repair the damage.

On the second half of his round, Canter was heading in the right direction with another pair of birdies on the par-four 12th and the par-five 14th taking him one-under for the day.

His fourth bogey came on the 16th to further stem his progress, but he was able to recover well with a late birdie three on the 18th, leaving him one-under par for the day and three-under for the tournament.