A TOPSY-TURVY front nine set David Howell up for a solid if unspectacular level par first round of 72 on the opening day of the Open de Espana today.

Meanwhile Jordan Smith, from Derry Hill, matched Howell's opening round, bouncing back from a poor start to also return to level par on day one.

A shot ahead of both of them was Laurie Canter, from the Cumberwell Park club near Bradford on Avon, who shot a 71, which included an eagle two at the par four 13th.

Swindon golfer Howell struggled for consistency early on in his first round back on the European Tour for a month.

The 42-year-old has not played competitively since missing the cut at the Indian Open back in the second week of March.

That rustiness was evident early on at Centro Nacional de Golf in Madrid as after a par at the first hole, Howell set off on a run of bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey.

All that left him at one-over after six holes, although there was little drama on his scorecard from there until the finish.

Howell remained at one-over as he reached the turn and it was pretty much par golf over the back nine too, other than one more birdie at the 11th hole which meant he was able to finish level par for the day.

Broome Manor man Howell was amongst the early starters in the Spanish capital and is six shots off the current clubhouse lead held by Scotland’s Marc Warren after a six-under 66.

Playing alongside fellow Englishmen Ryan Evans and James Heath, Howell will tee off his second round at 1.20pm BST tomorrow.