Graeme McDowell is the latest star to pull out of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this month.
The former US Open winner joins Rory McIlroy and defending champion Jon Rahm in opting to remain in the US instead of travelling to Galgorm Castle.
It leaves reigning Open champion Shane Lowry as the star attraction for the behind closed doors event running from September 24-27.
McDowell, 41, is a veteran of the championship and explained his decision on social media yesterday evening [Thurs].
The Portrush man wrote: "I have made the very difficult decision to not travel and compete in this year's DDF Irish Open at Galgorm Castle.
"I have never failed to attend this great event in 18 previous years and regret that due to the necessary changes made to the event, travel and scheduling issues, I am choosing not to play this year.
"I will be competing that same week at the Corales Punta Cana Resort and Club Championship, defending the title I won in 2019.
"Defending a title is something special and an honor I have tried to take seriously all my career.
"Under normal circumstances defending this event would not take priority over playing my home Open, but the unprecedented circumstances make this a better option for me at this time.
"I want to apologise to Dubai Duty Free and take an opportunity to thank them for the wonderful commitment they have made to putting the Irish Open back on the map.
"We will hopefully be back in 2021, with the event at full strength, surrounded by the great Irish fans, assuming we can put the issues caused by COVID behind us."
