Craig Howie ruing 'gym mishap' after first missed cut and two withdrawals

Craig Howie’s first missed cut as a full DP World Tour card holder stemmed from a gym session that he’s now regretting after also withdrawing from this week’s event in Belgium.

The Peebles player suffered his first disappointment since stepping up from the Challenge Tour at the end of last season as he bowed out early in the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry.

That came after he’d pulled out of the Catalunya Championship before the opening round the previous week and now he’s also sitting out the Soudal Open, which starts in Antwerp on Thursday.

“I had a total mishap in the gym on the Tuesday night during the Catalunya Championship,” said Howie. “I was doing some strength testing with the DP World Tour strength coach and I probably did an exercise that I shouldn’t have done.

“I woke up the next morning and my forearms were fried to bits and I couldn’t really grip a club. It was painful and it wasn’t good.

“I tried to warm up on the Thursday and, while I could maybe have played, it would have been at just 50 per cent and PGA Catalunya is a course where you need to proper ball-striking.

“I was concerned that if I was in the rough I’d just be chipping it up, so I thought it was sensible to withdraw from that event.

“I flew home on the Friday and was in a lot of pain. It got better on Saturday and Sunday and when I drove down to The Belfry last Monday I wasn’t sure how it was going to be.”

Feeling that he could give it a go in the £1.85 million event, Howie found himself heading home on Friday night after rounds of 74-73 and, subsequently, decided to skip the trip to Belgium.

“I was under-prepared for last week as I hadn’t been able to do the practice I wanted for about a week,” he added.

“I then withdrew from the Soudal