Updated: July 31, 8:37 a.m. ET
Francesco Molinari has announced his withdrawal from the PGA Championship. The 2018 Open champion is ranked 33rd in the world, which means 95 of the top 100 are now slated for the field at TPC Harding Park.
Original story:
Despite a global pandemic, the PGA Championship field will feature 96 of the top 100 players in the world.
On the published field list, only four of the top 100 players are missing: No. 36 Lee Westwood, No. 50 Shugo Imahira, No. 76 Thomas Pieters and No. 89 Eddie Pepperell.
Westwood, who is slightly asthmatic, told reporters last week at the British Masters that he wasn’t traveling to the U.S. for the PGA because he was “still more concerned that America doesn’t take (the coronavirus) as seriously as the rest of the world.” Pepperell expressed travel concerns and said he’d rather prioritize the European Tour’s U.K. Swing over one major championship.
The PGA is set to begin Aug. 6 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. No fans will be allowed to attend, with only limited personnel on-site.
Last year, for the first time, the PGA was set to host all of the top 100 before Justin Thomas withdrew because of a wrist injury.
Troy Merritt, Talor Gooch and Russell Henley are the top three players on the alternate list, respectively.