mcginley withdraws from medinah

Paul McGinley will miss the US PGA Championship at Medinah to attend the funeral of Darren Clarke's wife Heather.

Heather, who was 39, passed away peacefully at 2.15am on Sunday morning in London's Royal Marsden Hospital after a long battle with cancer.

McGinley said: "Our two families are very much intertwined, obviously me and Darren out here, but Heather and Ali (McGinley's wife) were the best of friends and our kids are in the same class at school.

"So it is a tough, tough time for us all.

"I have pulled out of next week's US PGA Championship to attend the funeral.

"You don't ever want to see anybody go, you always hold out hope right to the last minute. But boy she put up some battle, she put up some fight.

"It has been a tough ride for us all the last couple of years, but especially for Darren. He will have some issues to deal with now, but we will fully support him in any way we can."

McGinley is in the 10th and last automatic selection spot in Europe's Ryder Cup table and could be knocked down the table because of his decision not to go to Medinah.

It leaves him with just two more events - the Bridgestone world championship in Ohio and BMW International in Munich - to clinch his third cap and avoid the need for a wild card.