England’s David Howell has had to delay his comeback yet again, which means he will go straight into the US Open at Oakmont with no tournament preparation.
Howell was supposed to end his injury lay-off at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, starting on May 31, but he is yet to fully recover from a back strain that stopped him from defending his title at the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club this week.
Reuters quoted him from a BBC interview as saying:
“I have been off for a month now and it is going to be another couple of weeks off for me I am afraid.”
The US Open, the season’s second Major tournament, takes place at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania from June 14-17.
Howell has been keeping a low profile during his time away from the fairways. He dares not to exert himself too much for fear of picking up other injuries.
“Looking for things to do in my spare time is sometimes a problem for me. The last two times I played tennis I sprained my ankle and hurt something else and the last time I went running I broke my arm so I am obviously jinxed.â€
Last year Howell became the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since Nick Faldo won his fourth title in 1989. The 31-year-old earned the nickname “Cool Dude†by none other than Tiger Woods himself after he outlasted the world number one to win last year’s HSBC Championship in Shanghai.