Clarke pulls out to care for wife

DARREN CLARKE has withdrawn from this week’s Booz Allen Classic in Maryland to spend time with his wife Heather, who is suffering from cancer.

Clarke will make a decision nearer the time on whether to compete at the US Open at Pinehurst a week later.

He pulled out at the halfway stage of the recent BMW Championship at Wentworth when Heather was taken to hospital for further treatment.

Clarke has had five top-10 finishes in his eight US events so far this season.

Meanwhile, European tour player Gary Evans has written a letter of apology for his comments about Colin Montgomerie at Wentworth nine days ago.

However, the letter is not to Montgomerie, but to the head of BMW for affecting the amount of newspaper space given to their sponsorship of the tour’s flagship event.

Following the furore over the Ryder Cup star’s replacing of his ball in the Indonesian Open in March Evans said that “98%” of tour members were not happy with what happened and also stated that “there has been smoke around Monty before”.

Tour executive director George O’Grady called the remarks “enormously disrespectful” and “unacceptable” and Evans faces the possibility of disciplinary action under the tour’s code of behaviour.

“If I am you will find out,” said Evans yesterday at Walton Heath, where he was competing in the US Open qualifying tournament.

“I am making no further comment. I know everybody wants this to go away. My statements were only for the good of the game. I was standing up for what most of the players believe in and I’m well within my rights.

“I have, though, written a letter of apology to the head of BMW just as a courtesy.

“It’s a shame there was more space given to the controversy than Cabrera’s victory.

“I had no intention to take anything away from the tournament and the timing was unfortunate, but we all make a mistake now and again in life.

“Nobody wants to see controversy, but I think my point that something should have been done has been taken in.

“This was not so much a personal issue, it’s for the good of the game.”

Evans suggested that, like rugby union, golf should have a disciplinary panel to react to incidents that only fully come to light once a tournament is over.

“There are steps that the R&A (the Royal and Ancient Club, golf’s governing body) and the tour can make to rectify things like this in the future.”

Montgomerie handed his £24,000 winnings (he finished fourth) to the tsunami appeal after seeing a video of the hole in question, but the money stands on the Order of Merit and the world ranking points he picked up helped him qualify for next week’s US Open.

Asked if the Scot should donate whatever he earns at Pinehurst, Evans replied: “That’s a very good question, but ask him.”