Bjorn pulls out of Sun City

Cape Town - Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn has had to withdraw from next week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City because of a neck injury.

His place in the elite 12-man field will be taken by Italy’s Francesco Molinari.

Bjorn suffered a recurrence of the old injury that also forced him to withdraw from the World Cup of Golf at Mission Hills in China. Francesco and his brother Edoardo are currently representing Italy at the World Cup of Golf.

“We are very disappointed that Thomas will not be joining us at Sun City at the end of one of the best seasons of his career,” said Alastair Roper, the Tournament Director of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

“Thomas has also conveyed to us how disappointed he is and how much he was looking forward to playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, but we completely understand and hope that he recovers soon.”

Molinari, a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team who is currently ranked 39th in the world and 23rd on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, will make his debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

“Francesco is a wonderful player who will definitely bring something special to the Nedbank Golf Challenge,” said Roper. “His brother Edoardo made his debut at Sun City last year, so I’m sure Francesco will be looking forward to it as well.”

Nedbank Golf Challenge field:

Luke Donald (England)
Lee Westwood (England)
Martin Kaymer (Germany)
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)
Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland)
Kim Kyung-Tae (South Korea)
Robert Karlsson (Sweden)
Simon Dyson (England)
Francesco Molinari (Italy)
Anders Hansen (Denmark)
Jason Dufner (United States)
Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland)

Nedbank Senior Challenge field:

Jeff Sluman (USA)
Mark Calcavecchia (USA)
Nick Price (Zimbabwe)
Tom Lehman (USA)
David Frost (South Africa)
Mark O’Meara (USA)
Bernhard Langer (Germany)
Ian Woosnam (Wales)