Tiger's old nemesis Howell laments alarming dip in form

By Tony Jimenez

VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - Three years ago Britain's David Howell seemed to have the golfing world at his feet. Now his head is in a spin over constant battles at the wrong end of the leaderboard.

The 2006 season was Howell's finest on tour, starting with victory in the Champions Tournament in China where he outscored playing partner Tiger Woods.

That performance prompted Woods to nickname his rival 'Cool Dude', a tag the Englishman lived up to when he won the 2006 PGA Championship at Wentworth.

"I've not been playing well for a while," the 33-year-old Englishman told Reuters after a closing six-over 78 gave him an eight-over total of 296 at the European Tour's flagship event.

"It's a host of different things. It seemed very different three years ago.

"The game seemed pretty easy then and everything was going well. Golf is a fickle game, there's no doubt about it."

Howell's career started to go wrong in 2007 when he was handicapped by injuries to his shoulder and back.

After finishing third on the 2006 order of merit he suddenly plunged to 142nd the following season. Life improved in 2008 when he climbed to 45th in the money list.