David Howell: Tour Diary

So the Masters has been and gone and for most Brits that means the start of the golfing season, unless like me you have already played in seven tournaments, on three continents having gone around the world twice and visited India for the first time, spent one extra week in the Middle East practicing and one more at the CA Championships in Florida, unfortunately playing Doral s other courses with sponsors instead of trying to win the tournament proper.

That is the life of the modern day European tour player, to say that you need to be comfortable with living out of a suitcase is an understatement.

So, has this three months worth of air miles and loyalty point collecting been a worthwhile journey, or just wasted effort and a massive blow to my carbon footprint?

The answer is not a straightforward one unfortunately. Four missed cuts definitely shows that my game has not been in its best shape, unlike my body which for once is in the best shape of its 13 years as a professional. Seventh place in Qatar gave me hope early in the year that my fortunes were changing, only for things to take a big down turn only a couple of weeks later.

I sit here now having just lost in a playoff for the Portuguese Open with renewed confidence that the tables may finally have turned, but also having just watched the first round coverage of the Masters on TV for the first time in three years to remind me of just how far I have fallen.

Still as they say, onwards and upwards. I shall take my new found confidence into a two week trip to China with added determination that next year I may well be watching the masters on TV, but from the locker room at Augusta National, not from my sofa in Surrey.

Read more about David's life on Tour on his website by clicking here.