Casey pulls out of PGA Championship
Thursday, 13 August 2009 14:57World number three Paul Casey today withdrew from the US PGA Championship due to a rib injury, tournament organisers said.
The Englishman, a three-time winner this year, had strained an intercostal muscle preparing for last month's Open Championship at Turnberry and was forced to withdraw from last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio after just six holes of his opening round.
Casey received treatment on the injury on a daily basis and played nine practice holes at Hazeltine National in Minnesota on Wednesday.
He arrived at the course this morning, however, and did not feel fit enough to make his 7.45am tee time alongside Japan's Hiroyuki Fujita and Nick Watney of the United States.
Casey's place will be taken by Tim Petrovic.
Responding to the news Bradford fighter Nicola Adams, who became Great Britain's first ever world medallist when she won silver in Ningbo, China last year, said: 'It's more exciting than winning my silver medal. It's everything we've been fighting for - it all changes starting now.
'We've achieved so much already without having access to funding. We took a team to the worlds for the first time and we've just won three EU gold medals.
'With all the extra backing that should come our way, there's no reason we can't be up there competing with the likes of the Russians.
'The build-up to London is going to be the best time of my life. I've always thought about how I'd feel fighting and winning an Olympic medal in London.
'I've always wanted to make my family and friends and country proud and I can aim to do that now.
'Since the worlds I could not box in the ABAs because I had no opponents. Girls moved weights because they didn't want to fight me. Then a back injury kept me out of the EUs and the Europeans.
'But I'll be fully fit again in a few weeks and I've got a lot more motivation after hearing this news.'
