David Howell has his sights firmly fixed on beating the golf course at the 2020 Oman Open after admitting it came out on top when he last visited Al Mouj Golf.
Howell missed the cut in his only previous start at this tournament 12 months ago after battling with strong winds but he is an admirer of the track and is looking forward to taking it on again.
The Englishman heads into this week's event in good form having produced his best finish since 2018 when he came joint 27th at the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers earlier in the month.
But his main aim for the week is to get revenge on the course.
Howell said: "I'm looking forward to this next run of events and this week especially.
"It was my best tournament in two years in Saudi - a top 30 finish - that was really pleasing, so a little confidence boost there. I made the cut in Abu Dhabi as well and played one nice round in Dubai.
"So feeling a little bit better about my own game and hopefully we can put some good golf together this week and I'd like to beat this course - it beat me last year so hopefully we can do that this week.
This week's course is something else 😍#OmanOpen pic.twitter.com/yQ8dMyZcaf
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 25, 2020
"It was my first look last year and unfortunately we got blown off the place - well certainly I did - it was so windy so it was hard to get a true reflection of this golf course. And it really is a truly great golf course.
"It's a great design, it's really interesting and stunning in parts along the shoreline as well.
"So I'm looking forward to this week and hopefully playing it in slightly more benign conditions.
"It really is, I would say, the most interesting course we play. It reminds me much of Yas and Saadiyat down there in Abu Dhabi on the shoreline.
"It's got elements of desert course to this, of course, but it also feels a bit linksy, which is a lovely mix."
South African Brandon Stone is also in a high quality field gathered in Oman this week and, like Howell, he is a big fan of the course.
"The Oman Open is a fantastic event," he said. "And what a design of a golf course this is.
"When people ask me what's my favourite course on the European Tour, Al Mouj Golf is definitely up there. It's simply fantastic.
"I played it during my time on the Challenge Tour and the design of the course is timeless.
"Greg Norman has done an incredible job creating such a fantastic layout, and coming back to play again is going to be great fun."
