Darren Clarke withdraws from US Open

Darren Clarke withdrew from next week's U.S. Open to be with his wife, who is undergoing cancer treatment. This will be the first major he has missed since 1998.

"Hopefully, Heather will be out of hospital soon and I will be able to return to the game," Clarke said Thursday. "But there are more important issues to be dealt with at the moment than swinging a golf club."

Clarke of Northern Ireland has not played a tournament since pulling out of the BMW Championship two weeks ago.

The U.S. Open begins Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.

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