DAVID Howell admitted his long game had not been up to scratch after finishing well down the leaderboard at the BMW PGA Championship.

The Swindon star, a former winner at the Wentworth event in 2006, finished on seven-over-par for the tournament following two rounds of two-over-par on Saturday and Sunday.

“I struggled,” was the frank assessment of the Broome Manor pro when asked for his verdict on the tournament, which was won by England’s Simon Khan.

“In my long game I wasn’t hitting the ball straight and wasn’t in control of the ball as well as I needed to be, in order to be in the lower numbers.

“Although the course changes are a vast improvement, it’s a difficult course now and very penal.

“I was a bit disappointed, I had shown some pretty decent form of late but this week was a bit more of a struggle.”

Howell’s weekend may have been a lot more enjoyable had he not taken an expensive eight shots to complete the par four sixth on Saturday, a hole he had not dropped a single shot on in any of his other three rounds.

“I had a poor tee shot and had to take a drop to chip out onto the fairway,” he explained.

“Then I made a pig’s ear of it from the middle of the fairway with an iron in my hand.

“I hit seven bad shots and it cost me an eight.”

There were positives to be had for the 34-year-old, though, who is due to tee off in the Madrid Masters on Thursday.

“My putting and my short game was pretty sharp,” said Howell.

“And I did keep fighting all the way to the end.

“I was proud of myself for the way I continued to battle.”

The bulk of his round on Saturday would have pleased the 34-year-old, although he did open proceedings with a bogey at the first.

A birdie at the 552-yard fourth pulled it back before he took eight shots to complete the sixth.

The damage was limited by birdies on nine and 14 before a bogey at the par five 15th set him back to three-over-par for the day.

A birdie at the par five 18th meant he finished the day on a two-over-par, a respectable effort considering his nightmarish experience at the sixth.

Yesterday, Howell opened with a trio of pars before grabbing a birdie at the fourth hole for the fourth time in the tournament.

Bogeys followed at five and seven as he slipped back to one-over-par for the day, before he hit four pars on the spin.

Howell dropped a shot on both the 12th and 15th but signed off the tournament in style as he sunk a birdie on the 18th hole.