McDowell’s Open hopes hit after clubs gomissing

Graeme McDowell’s hopes of making the Open Championship at Carnoustie have been reduced after his clubs were lost following a flight from France.

McDowell has been scheduled to competeintoday’sOpenChampionship qualifier at St Annes, with 72 players set to contest the three available spots.

But the 2010 US Open champion’s clubs went missing after he flew in to Manchester following his tied 37th-placed finish at the French Open on Sunday.

McDowell added that he had decided to “cut my losses and start preparing” for this week’s Irish Open at Ballyliffin, which begins on Thursday and also offers a chance to qualify for the Open.

The Northern Irishman was ranked fourth in the world at the start of 2011, six months after his stunning US Open triumph at Pebble Beach.

But McDowell has dropped to 175th in the world rankings after several lean seasons and is danger of missing the 147th Open Championship, to be held on the Angus course from July 19-22

Tour title with a convincing eight-shot victoryattheQuickenLoansNationalin Maryland. Molinari finished at 21 under, eight shots clear of American Ryan Armour and 10 ahead of Tiger Woods.

The 14-time major winner fired a closing 66 to record his third top 10 in 11 events this season since returning from injury.

The victory is the Italian’s first in the United States and further increases his chances making a third Ryder Cup appearance in September.

Francesco Molinari with the trophy after he won the Quicken Loans National.