PGA Tour star Billy Horschel has pulled out of the 2024 Irish Open at Royal County Down.
The 2014 FedEx Cup champion had committed to playing in the DP World Tour event before he announced the news of his withdrawal.
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Joint Open Championship runner-up Billy Horschel cited a back/rib injury as to why he won’t be teeing it up at the famous links track.
It’s a big blow for the tournament that has failed to attract the top names from the golf world over the past decade or more.
That’s due to its smaller purse and positioning on the DP World Tour calendar.
Floridia native Horschel, who played at The K Club last year was looking forward to the return on Irish shores.
The-37-year-old has been a huge supporter of Europe’s number one tour admitted he was gutted to be missing the event in Northern Ireland.
Taking to social media, Billy confirmed the news: “I sustained a minor back/rib injury early in the week at the BMW Championship that carried on last week at the Tour Championship.
“My body needs another week to recover so the injury doesn’t continue to linger.
“I’m disappointed to miss the Irish Open, as I enjoyed and loved my time at The K Club last year.”
He hopes to be fit for the BMW PGA at Wentworth, the Alfred Dunhill Links and the Open de France in the coming weeks.
The 2024 Amgen Irish Open gets underway on Thursday at Royal County Down Golf.
This tournament on the DP World Tour has a $6 million purse with Sweden’s Vincent Norrman the defending champion this week.
Rory McIlroy won the event at The K Club in 2016 while Shane Lowry won it as an amateur at County Louth in 2009.
Also involved is Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre who has enjoyed a breakout year on the PGA Tour, winning the Canadian Open and his home Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.
Seamus Power, Erik van Rooyen, Guido Migliozzi, Nicolai Hojgaard, Ryan Fox and Padraig Harrington are all part of the field
The full field can be found here with all the action live from Thursday morning on Sky Sports Golf.