Paul McGinley has reluctantly pulled out of the BMW Championship at Wentworth, the event in which he finished runner-up to Argentina's Angel Cabrera last year.
That the Dubliner even had a chance of playing was something of a miracle considering he underwent surgery to remove a piece of floating bone in his left knee only last Thursday.
His return was not expected to be until next week's Wales Open at the earliest and possibly not until the US Open on June 15th-18th.
However, McGinley tried to test his fitness by playing nine holes today, but decided that the European Tour's flagship event had come too soon.
His place goes to England's Benn Barham, who will partner Ryder Cup hopefuls Nick Dougherty and Niclas Fasth in the first two rounds.
"Although I had no problem hitting shots or twisting and turning, the problem came walking between shots," stated McGinley. "It's less than a week since surgery and my knee started to swell.
"I nearly made it, but I am fully confident I will be back next week. It's disappointing to miss such a marvellous tournament, but the risk was too great."
Now McGinley must wait to see if he slips down from his current seventh place in the Ryder Cup table.
