DAVID Howell takes his quest to make a cut on the European Tour for the first time this season to the Far East at this week’s China Open, which gets underway in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Swindon star Howell has failed to qualify for the weekend’s action at all seven of the events he has contested on the Tour in the 2019 campaign.

It is also 10 missed cuts in a row in total for the 43-year-old following a below-par conclusion to his schedule last season.

Howell will hope to arrest his slide in Shenzhen, although he does so on the back of his highest score to par at a tournament this season last week.

The Broome Manor man finished the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco on 11-over for a tie of 136th place – the furthest down a leaderboard he has finished this term.

Howell will be amongst the earliest starters at Genzon Golf Club in tomorrow's first round, teeing off at 12.10am BST alongside Malaysia’s Gavin Green and home player Yinong Yang.

The trio start their second rounds at 5.10am BST on Friday.

Howell has only competed at the China Open once in the previous three seasons, although it is an event at which he has flourished before as he finished second back in 2015.

Fellow Wiltshire golfer Jordan Smith will get his quest under way shortly after Howell, teeing off in the first round at 12.20am BST.