Golf: Turner has bad back

New Zealand golfer Greg Turner is receiving treatment for a back injury which he suffered during the last round of the United States PGA Championships in Chicago. Turner fired a four-round 287 to tie for 16th and pocketed $US48,600 ($93,460).

The 36-year-old Turner now has to be 100 per cent fit for the exclusive NEC World Golf Cup championship event at Akron, Ohio, in 10 days.

He will skip the BMW International Open in Munich this weekend to prevent any recurrence of the injury.

Back in his Surrey cottage in Chobham yesterday, Turner said he was pleased with his top-20 placing in the PGA.

"I'm reasonably happy with my game at Medinah. I played nicely but I hurt my back yesterday. I was struggling a bit because I couldn't turn my head properly, which made it a bit tricky," he said.

"I'll see a physio later today but it was the last thing I needed to sit in an aeroplane for eight hours with a crook neck."

Despite his back problem, he said he was satisfied with his week "in the office" in Chicago.

Turner is still chasing his first tournament win since lifting the 1997 British Masters. His European qualifying exemption as a category-three tournament winner expires in November.

His best efforts this year include second in the French Open and ninth in the Scandinavian Masters, and he is lying 32nd on the European order of merit so far this year. - NZPA