BATTLING Kevin Spurgeon has vowed to play through the pain barrier in his attempt to climb the European Senior Tour rankings.

The 56-year-old Ferndown touring professional strained a ligament in his left arm while playing in a pro-am in Spain last month.

“I can’t really pinpoint when it happened,” said Spurgeon. “I felt a twinge in my arm during the round, but it wasn’t until the next morning that I felt in real pain and couldn’t grip the club.”

Fortunately, Spurgeon had already competed in the main event, the day before, when he finished a creditable joint 25th in the OKI Open de Espana.

“I was really pleased with how I played, so the injury came as a bit of a setback,” added Spurgeon, who finished on two over par with rounds of 74, 72 and 69 at the El Valle Golf Resort in Murcia.

The injury meant Spurgeon had to pull out of the first West Region order of merit event at Oake Manor (Taunton) and the Ferndown Pro-Am.

Spurgeon, however, returned to action at the weekend when he played all three rounds in the ISPS Handa Senior Masters at Stapleford Park in Melton Mowbray.

“I managed to get through with the help of the physio, but my arm was still giving me a bit of trouble,” said Spurgeon, who carded rounds of 79, 76 and 76 for a share of 49th place.

There will be little respite for Spurgeon, however, as the Seniors Tour hots up with four tournaments on the spin leading up to the Senior Open next month.

“It’s not the best time to be carrying an injury,” admitted Spurgeon. “But I can still hit the ball well enough, so I will just have to get on with it and see how it goes.”

Spurgeon needs to finish in the top 30 on the order of merit to keep his playing privileges for next year.

He is currently in 36th position going into this week’s four-round PGA Seniors Championship at Slaley Hall which starts on Thursday.