TOUR SCENE: Bernhard Langer's wrist injury has forced Europe's Ryder Cup captain to miss out on two of the most lucrative tournaments on the PGA European Tour schedule.
The 46-year-old German has been forced to withdraw from this week's Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe in Heidelberg and also from next week's flagship Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth.
"My wrist is currently unable to withstand the rigours of tournament play and it is important for the remainder of the season that I make sure that the injury has healed completely before I resume competition," explained Langer, who is unsure when he will be able to play tournament golf again.
He last played in the Heritage tournament at Hilton Head last month, his 10th tournament of a season that has seen him make every cut and which includes three top-10 finishes, the best for tied-fourth at the US Masters.
Langer's decision to miss out on this week's €3 million TPC of Europe - €500,000 to the winner - means he will have to wait until later in the season to make an attempt for his 12th tour title on German soil. "Right until the last minute I had been hoping I would be able to play, but the injury just wouldn't allow it," said Langer.
The Volvo PGA is also a tournament Langer has supported throughout his long career, playing on no fewer than 20 occasions and winning three times.
Langer's absence from Heidelberg means he won't get an opportunity to see some of his potential Ryder Cup team in action. The tournament has attracted a quality field that includes South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen - who between them have won the last three European Tour Order of Merit titles - and, of course, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, the top two European players in the world rankings at eighth and 14th respectively.
Strangely, this will be Harrington's first time to play a European Tour event on European soil this season (his participation in tournaments so far this year has been reserved for the Far East, the Middle East and the US). It will only be a short stop-off before he resumes his globetrotting again as he returns for a three-week stint in America that will see him take in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio; the Buick Classic in Westchester, and the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Harrington is part of a seven- strong Irish contingent competing in the TPC of Europe, where he will be joined by Clarke, Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley, Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane.
Meanwhile, Des Smyth paid a reconnaissance visit to Royal Portrush yesterday - he intends to play a second practise round there today - in preparation for the Senior British Open, which returns to the north Antrim links when the major is played there on July 22nd-25th.
"It might sound unbelievable but I've never played Royal Portrush. It's only a three-hour drive from my house but I was still on the regular tour when the Senior British Open was last there. I've decided to play my practise rounds there now because I want to savour some of the build-up to the Nissan Irish Open at Baltray which is on the same week," said Smyth. The tournament carries a prize fund of €1.47 million and is jointly sanctioned by the European Seniors' Tour and the US Champions' Tour.
The championship was launched at a reception in Belfast yesterday and Tom Watson, who won the championship at Turnberry last year, has confirmed he will be returning to defend, while Ben Crenshaw, Jay Haas, Tom Kite, Jerry Pate and Craig Stadler are also due to play.
The European challenge will be led by Scotland's Sam Torrance and Englishmen Mark James and Carl Mason, who in 2003 was beaten by Watson on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off, while Ireland's Christy O'Connor Jnr, who triumphed in 1999, when it was last played at Royal Portrush, and again at Royal County Down in 2000, will lead a formidable home contingent that will include Smyth, Eamonn Darcy and Denis O'Sullivan. The event will also mark Eduardo Romero's debut on the seniors' tour, as he turns 50 on July 17th.
VOLVO ORDER OF MERIT (Irish positions): 3, D Clarke €531,724; 5, P Harrington €403,410; 10, G McDowell €329,310; 16, P McGinley a280,863; 74, P Lawrie €86,777; 81, D McGrane €73,779; 113, G Murphy €47,441.
