Golding bowled over by injury

Philip Golding, this week’s defending champion at the French Open, is a golfer suffering from tennis elbow aggravated by playing cricket.

Golding has had the problem on and off for the past year, but the former Middlesex Colts player, who used to be coached by Mike Gatting, agreed to go to Lord’s to face a bowling machine as part of a television feature on him.

“I’ve not been in the nets for 15 or 20 years and the next day I couldn’t move my left arm,” said the 41-year-old, whose victory at Le Golf National a year ago was his first in 201 European tour starts.

“That was about six weeks ago, but it’s still sore. I had acupuncture last week and a cortisone injection is the next thing, but I’m not sure I want to go down that route.”

Golding also hurt the arm on a body-board at the “Wild Wadi” water park in Dubai in March and had to miss some tournaments because of it.

As last year’s winner Golding was one of six players subjected to drug-testing by the French Sports Ministry at the end of the event – the first time it had happened on the circuit – and this week’s field has been advised that the same could happen this week.

Marc Farry tested positive for the banned substance prednisolene, but he was unaware it was in medically-prescribed treatment for a wrist injury and no action followed.

Dr Roger Hawkes, the European tour’s medical advisor, said the drug was not obviously performance-enhancing and might not be included on a banned list coming into force this year.