Clarke pulls out of Tour events

His wife’s continuing battle with cancer has led to Darren Clarke pulling out of the next two US Tour events – the American Express world championship in San Francisco starting on Thursday and the Las Vegas Invitational.

Clarke’s appearance at this week’s Dunhill links championship in Scotland is his first for over a month and although he stands four under par with a round to play he said today: “My mind’s not on the job for obvious reasons.”