Heywood was accepted as a professional by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 1983. He played ten matches as a professional, but did not win any of them. His first match was a 7–10 defeat by George Scott in the first qualifying round of the 1984 World Snooker Championship, and his last match ended in a 4–6 defeat by Ian Anderson at the 1987 Australian Professional Championship. The highest ranking that he achieved was 80th. Heywood died in 2014.