European Ryder Cup hero Lee Westwood on Monday withdrew from this week’s Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
Westwood won the Dunhill event in 2003 but has decided to pull out this time to recover after his efforts for Europe, who came from 10-6 down to retain the Ryder Cup with an epic fightback in the singles on Sunday.
Westwood’s withdrawal leaves only three members of the European side in the Dunhill field.
The three Europeans are Paul Lawrie, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer, who holed the putt that guaranteed Jose Maria Olazabal’s men would retain the trophy, plus Dustin Johnson from the beaten American line-up.
South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius and American swimmer Michael Phelps are among the stars from other sports taking part in the pro-am format.
The first three days are at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, with the leaders playing the final round back at St Andrews.
