Viktor Hovland has decided not to play in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The 28-year-old was eligible to compete in the finale this week at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course.
Only the top 50 in the order of merit after the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship had a tee time in Dubai.
The field is headlined by Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who is chasing his seventh order of merit title and fourth in a row.
Rising star Marco Penge and McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, are the only two players that can leapfrog him in the standings.
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The stacked field also includes in-form Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Ludvig Aberg.
Sepp Straka finished outside the top 50 but was eligible for the showpiece because he was a member of the European Ryder Cup team.
But the Austrian has decided not to play for personal reasons.
The DP World Tour said he will still keep his card despite not playing the minimum number of four events to keep his full playing rights.
But Hovland’s name is no longer listed in the field, meaning that he won’t be back in action until next January.
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A player in the field has also confirmed Hovland’s withdrawal to GolfMagic.
The reason for Hovland’s withdrawal is not known, but it’s more than likely that he is still struggling with a neck injury that prevented him from playing last week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Hovland has been struggling with a neck issue all season and it flared up during the Ryder Cup, forcing him out of the final day of the matches against the United States at Bethpage Black.
It triggered the use of a rare and controversial “envelope rule”, giving Europe half a point and sparking a fierce debate about fairness.
Hovland returned to action a few weeks later at the inaugural India Championship where he described the situation as “upsetting”.
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But he denied that he was trying to “finagle the system” and stressed that there is no perfect solution when a player gets injured in the Ryder Cup.
Hovland’s decision not to play is excellent news for Brandon Robinson-Thompson.
The 32-year-old Englishman finished agonizingly close to qualification, placing 51st – a mere 30.40 points behind compatriot Matthew Jordan.
But now he will have the chance to end a breakout season on a high.
Hovland isn’t the only big name missing
LIV Golf recruit Jon Rahm was eligible to compete in the DP World Tour’s play-offs but the Spaniard confirmed in October that he would be taking an extended break from the sport.
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Rahm said he will not play professional golf again until LIV begin their fourth season next February.
Elsewhere, Matthew Wallace has decided to prioritise keeping his PGA Tour card.
Wallace skipped last week’s tournament in Abu Dhabi in favour of the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.
The Englishman, who narrowly missed out on a spot in the European Ryder Cup team, is in the field for this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
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