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Graeme McDowell has announced that he will not be participating in this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
Instead, the Northern Irishman will defend his title at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship that takes place the same weekend on September 24, the week after the US Open at Winged Foot.
The Irish Open was originally scheduled to take place at Mount Juliet in May, but was moved to Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will be played behind closed doors.
The great winner of the US Open 2010 confirmed his decision on his Instagram account.
“I have made the very difficult decision not to travel and compete in this year’s DDF Irish Open at Galgorm Castle,” he wrote.
“I have never stopped attending this great event in the past 18 years and I regret that due to necessary changes made to the event, travel and scheduling issues, I am choosing not to play this year.
“I will be competing that same week at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, defending the title that I won in 2019.
“Defending a title is something special and an honor that I have tried to take seriously my entire career.
“Under normal circumstances, defending this event would not take priority over playing my Open at home, but the unprecedented circumstances make this a better option for me at the moment.”
He added that he is hopeful of returning to the Irish Open in 2021.
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