David Howell is hoping to put an entirely forgettable 2007 season behind him with a good showing at the Hong Kong Open this week.
Englishman looks to put injury-plagued 2007 season behind him
David Howell is hoping to put an entirely forgettable 2007 season behind him when he tees it up in this week's Hong Kong Open - the second event on the 2008 calendar.
The 32-year-old, who narrowly missed out on the 2006 Order of Merit, has been plagued by injuries for the past 12 months and finished only 142nd on this year's money-list.
Howell is now determined to put what has been a nightmare spell behind him and begin to rebuild his form and confidence.
Having missed his previous three cuts at European Tour events, reaching the weekend in Hong Kong will be his primary objective - a feat he last achieved at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in September.
"I've missed a lot of cuts, by far the worst I have ever done. It's been a disappointing year," he stated.
"I stopped looking at the Order of Merit a long time ago, my previous worst was around 70 and that was in the year I broke my arm.
Enjoyment
"I've now just got to put it behind me and keep enjoying the game and keep working hard. This now feels like the end of a long year than the start of a new one for me.
"I've got seven weeks off after this and Abu Dhabi will be my first outing in 2008, but there will be no better way to go into 2008 than with a good performance this week."
The Swindon-born professional has endured a number of different injuries over the past few months and admits to being troubled by a hip complaint at present.
However, with a break on the horizon, he intends to address that problem and is hoping that his recent fourth-place finish at the King Hassan Trophy in Morocco - behind Open champion Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Simon Dyson - is evidence of the green shoots of recovery.
"The hip injury has been niggling for the last few months, but I need to work out what's going on there," he continued.
"It's a bit debilitating mentally as I can't practice as hard as I can. That needs sorting out over the winter.
"I did a bit better in Morocco, it wasn't the strongest or biggest of fields but fourth place with the Open champion winning and other top players at two and three is a lot better than I have been doing.
"I'll take all the positives from that and it would be nice to back that up with a decent performance this week."