Howell heads stateside

After three missed cuts in his last four starts European Tour number one David Howell has flown to America hoping it brings him a change in fortunes.

Howell plays in The International in Colorado this week, then the US PGA championship in Illinois and the Bridgestone world championship in Ohio.

Howell said: "My swing's been a bit harder to put into place than I thought, but after practising last week I'm feeling really confident again and looking forward to another good stretch of tournaments."

He added: "It has been a tough stretch for me the last month, but I try not to get too up when things are going well and too down when things are going badly.

"It's almost a change to the timing of my set-up routine really. I was starting to stand over the ball for two or three seconds very still, very tense, especially over my right arm.

"My coach and I have been aware of it for quite a while. It cropped up at the US Open, even though I played well that week. My bad shots still seemed to be caused by that flaw.

"I set to the task of trying to change it straight after the US Open and it proved to be very difficult, but I feel like I've sort of done it now. Basically I'm setting up a bit quicker."

Howell was struggling with his game the week of his Ryder Cup debut two years ago and desperately wants to avoid a repeat of that.

"You don't want to be going in playing poorly and certainly it's on my mind to be on top form.

"The Ryder Cup is just so pressurised and I need to get rid of as much tension from the swing as possible. So hopefully that will work out."