BARRY HAWKINS has revealed he has had to pull out of the World Open due to a continued back issue.
The world No. 9 has withdrawn after playing through the pain barrier to lift the Welsh Open last month with a 9-5 win over Jack Lisowski
“I don’t like pulling out of events so it wasn’t an easy decision,” he said on World Snooker Tour.
“But I am in pain just practising, so I need to rest it, and make sure I am ready for Manchester [Tour Championship] and Sheffield [World Championship].
“Manchester is one of the best venues we go to and it’s an amazing location right in the middle of the city, so the players love it.
“The matches are best of 19 from the start, against the best players in the world, so it’s also a perfect warm up for the Crucible.”
Hawkins is set to take part in the 12-player Tour Championship starting on March 30.
He is set to play alongside Mark Selby and Neil Robertson and both of his peers persuaded him not to withdraw from the Welsh Open.
“Mark did text me and said I’ll just have 10% [of a share], that’s what he said.
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“I’ll buy them a few drinks, I’m sure. I was that close to pulling out, they said, ‘just give it another couple of hours, take some painkillers,’ and thankfully it started easing up as I was playing.
“Thank God I stayed.”
The tournament will have the top 12 players on the one-year ranking list competing in Manchester of which Hawkins sits eighth while a name like Ronnie O’Sullivan is 11th.
But the Kent-born star feels heading to China for the World Open would be a stretch too far for his bad back amongst a packed schedule.
