PAST champion David Howell admitted simply putting four good rounds together would be enough for him after receiving an invite to play in this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Howell revealed he had only missed out on qualifying for the flagship event by two ranking places and was playing at the famous Surrey course thanks to the generosity of Wentworth Golf Club.

Fitted with a new set of Titleist clubs, though, the two-time Ryder Cup winner was feeling suitably refreshed and ready to hit the course following a woeful opening round at the KLM Open that cost Howell a chance to play two more days last week.

Howell said: “The size of this tournament gets the juices flowing. It’s bigger and better than just about anything else that we do on our tour, so it would be a great week to play well.

“But for me, it’s about having a good week, and if something amazing happens then so be it, that’s brilliant, but it’s about putting four nice rounds together and seeing what happens.

“If I was to finish in the top 20 this week, I’d be absolutely delighted.”

If Howell is to enjoy a successful week in Surrey, he will need to break a woeful trend of having only made the cut once in his previous seven appearances at the premier European Tour event.

The former Broome Manor pro has got good memories of the tournament – such as his win in 2006 – and believes Wentworth’s heavy tactical aspect will aid him in his quest to make sure he does not set a new career low in relation to money earned in a European Tour season.

Howell said: “I won here in 2006. It’s a long time ago now of course, and I’ve finished third here before, so I’ve had some great weeks on this course, but I’ve missed plenty of cuts in my 25 years.

“But it’s a course I can see my way around and it’s not a long course particularly, so having distance isn’t a huge advantage around here.

“It kind of suits my game in that sense. The greens are always good which is helpful because I putt well, but it’s a big, tough golf course, so you’ve got to play well to have success.”