Luke DOnald has pulled out of Open (AFP)
Luke Donald has pulled out of next week's British Open after failing to recover sufficiently from the wrist injury he suffered at last month's US Open, the US-based Englishman has announced.
Donald had skipped the Scottish Open here to give himself every chance of being fit for Royal Birkdale.
But he admitted on Friday that he had lost the battle and that surgery could be necessary.
"I consider the Open Championship to be at the top of the list of the four biggest tournaments I play each year, so it is obviously extremely disappointing to not be able to be at Royal Birkdale," he said.
"The fact that it is a Ryder Cup year is also frustrating, but you can't account for injuries, and the important thing is for me to focus on what's best for my long-term health.
"My preference is to try and do everything I can to rehabilitate the injury naturally and leave surgery as the last resort."
With Donald set to be sidelined for another three or four weeks, he has been left with no chance of qualifying automatically for Europe's Ryder Cup team to face the United States in Kentucky in September.
Donald, who has played in the last two Ryder Cups, had been expected to be picked as a wildcard selection by Nick Faldo but the European captain may have to have a rethink if the 30-year-old is badly short of playing time.
© 2008 AFP/sid
