Par for the course really is becoming par for the course for Swindon’s David Howell after another steady opening round to a tournament.

The Broome Manor man is making a habit of submitting even cards and flirting with the cut of late and the same applied on day one of the Madrid Masters today.

Three birdies and three bogeys made up his 72, with five successive pars upto the 18th underlining a consistent outing.

It leaves Howell seven off the lead, shared by Luke Donald and Welsh pair Welsh pair Rhys Davies and Jamie Donaldson.

Five days after taking seven on the penultimate hole of the BMW PGA Championship and losing by one, Donald fired a seven-under-par 65 at Real Sociedad.

And as if to hit back as well at all the headlines last week calling him ‘Plod’, the Ryder Cup star made two superb eagles.

“I can’t remember the last time I had two in a round. I don’t think I’ve had one on the PGA Tour all year,” said Donald, who almost holed his 275-yard approach to the monster 653-yard ninth and then hit another rescue club 253 yards to seven feet on the 16th.

“I’m never going to overpower a course and some people think I am a short hitter, but I hit it far enough to compete.

“I would love to have that drive (at the 17th on Sunday) again, but I don’t see the value in stewing over it.

“If I had planned a week off it might have been tougher, but you learn and you take the positives.”

Donaldson was a teammate of Donald when Britain finished second in the world amateur team championship 10 years ago, but he has played 200 European Tour events since then and has yet to taste success.

Davies, on the other hand, is in his rookie season and has already won in Morocco.