• European Tour

Clarke skips Dubai after car crash

ESPN staff
January 29, 2013
Darren Clarke is expected to be fit to return for the Pearl Golf Premier League event in India © Getty Images
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Darren Clarke has pulled out of the Dubai Desert Classic to recover from a neck injury picked up in a minor traffic accident.

The 2011 Open champion's name was missing from the entry list for the final event of the European Tour's three-tournament 'Desert Swing'.

Clarke's manager Chubby Chandler said the 44-year-old had suffered a stiff neck in last week's accident, in which he was a passenger in the car, and "just needed to rest this week".

Clarke is expected to return in time for next week's inaugural Pearl Golf Premier League, a 14-hole tournament pitting eight three-man teams against one another at the Aamby Valley golf course in India.

Lee Westwood will make his first competitive appearance of the season in Dubai. The world No. 8 was runner-up at the event for the third time in 2012.

Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey and Gareth Maybin are also playing, along with defending champion Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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