Clarke pulls out of US Open
BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2005 US Open | General | 12 Jun 2005
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland has withdrawn from the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 to be with his wife, who is undergoing cancer treatment. This will be the first major the 36-year-old has missed since 1998. Clarke’s best US Open finish came at Pinehurst in 1999 when he tied for 10th.
Clarke is being replaced in the 156-player field by Conrad Ray, 30, of Palo Alto, Calif. Ray, the golf coach at Stanford University, was the first alternate from the Tarzana, CA, sectional.
“Hopefully, Heather will be out of the hospital soon and I will be able to return to the game,” Clarke told the Associated Press on Thursday. “But there are more important issues to be dealt with at the moment than swinging a golf club.”
Clarke has not played a tournament since pulling out of the BMW Championship two weeks ago. He currently is the No. 15 ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Source – USGA
