GOLF: DAVID Howell will be disappointed if he's not challenging for the prestigious BMW Championship at Wentworth this week, despite admitting he has no right to expect it, writes OWEN HOULIHAN.

The Swindon 30-year-old resumes his playing commitments tomorrow after giving his troublesome back an 11-day rest.

The European No 1, pictured above, is in better shape than his last appearance, in the British Masters at the Belfry where he finished 11th.

That followed a month-long lay-off but Howell concedes the injury is still causing him concern.

"My back's better, but not perfect," he said yesterday. "It's vastly improved to two weeks ago.

"I feel like I can stand up there and give it a whack, whereas at The Belfry I was really quite nervous with it still.

"That's good, but obviously I'm not as fit as I would like to be.

"You want to be 100 per cent at this time of year so it's frustrating, but I'm obviously more positive with it and it's nice to come back feeling like I am getting there.

"It was getting better during the week at The Belfry, but a long way from being right.

"If it had been the British Open last week I might well have soldiered on, but with this tournament coming up I needed to take the week off and give it a rest.

This week's field boasts Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Adam Scott and Luke Donald from the world's top 10, and the challenge they face is much tougher after Els, a Wentworth resident, was brought in by the club and changed 17 of the 18 holes.

Howell added: "To come through the week healthy would be great, but once you are out there on Thursday you want to do as well as you can.

"I am as competitive as anybody and will be disappointed if I don't win.

"However, I'm not in a position to have those expectations having not played that much at the moment and not being fully fit."

Star pairings for the first two rounds include Els with Irish Open winner Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jimenez, and three-time winner Colin Montgomerie with Padraig Harrington and former Open champion Ben Curtis.

Howell tees off with defending champion Angel Cabrera and US Open champion Michael Campbell at 8.30am, Goosen and Scott with Paul Casey, Donald with Lee Westwood and Australian Nick O'Hern and Darren Clarke partners Jose Maria Olazabal and Henrik Stenson.