Howie registers outstanding finish after four-month lay-off

Craig Howie in action in Austria (picture by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Peebles player Howie finished on 10 under par in the Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club, in Atzenbrugg, near Vienna.

The event – following a four-month break enforced by the global coronavirus pandemic – was won by Glasgow’s Marc Warren, with Fifer Connor Syme also in joint fourth alongside Howie.

The Borders man carded rounds of 66, 69, 74, 69 and said on final day: “I am pleased. I played better today than I had for the other three days, if I am honest.

“For the first three days, I wasn’t really all there. My long game was OK – not amazing, but I putted well and that kept me going.

“Today was a bit better from tee to green. I was really solid and never looked like making a bogey, which was very pleasing. It is nice to hit it a bit nicer and a lot to play for next week.

“The greens were pretty soft and, with all the rain we had, so were the fairways, so it was a little bit more like target golf today than it has been the first few days. I’m not sure if I have had three days in a row in such different weather but it was certainly much nicer to play today than it was yesterday.”

The event itself was tournament number 12 on the 2020 Race to Dubai and had a prize fund of €500,000.

Howie ensured he was in contention early on with that first-round 66, as Dutchman Joost Luiten set the pace with a seven-under-par 65.

Howie and Warren shot matching 66s to sit joint-second, one shot ahead of Syme.

In the circuit’s first event since the Qatar Masters in early March, Howie also set a clubhouse target with his impressive bogey-free morning effort.

The 25-year-old rolled in a 15-footer at the last for his sixth birdie of the round.

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect after four months off, so that was a surprise,” he said. “It was good, though.

“It’s the first time I’ve had a bogey-free round in a long, long time, so it is pretty satisfying, especially on a tough golf course.”

Howie was playing in just his second European Tour event, while the season continues in Austria this week with the dual-ranked Euram Bank Open at GC Adamstal, followed by the Betfred British Masters at Close House, the first of the new six-event UK Swing.