Airline loses bag, which is bad for golfer

Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell may miss out on the British Open later this month — though not due to any fault of his own.

McDowell flew from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport to Manchester on Sunday night ahead of Tuesday’s qualifier for The Open at St. Annes, something he needed to do well in to secure his place in the tournament. However, there was just one problem — his clubs didn’t show up.

“Need assistance from @ airfance,” McDowell tweeted early Monday morning. “Flew into Manchester last night from CDG and my golf clubs are untraceable. I have a 36 qualifier tomorrow for @TheOpen and really need my bag. Thanks in advance. #help.”

His call for help, though, seemingly went unanswered.

McDowell was asked why he simply didn’t rent clubs ahead of Tuesday’s qualifier, which is a totally fair question. However, as McDowell explained, only three spots are up for grabs out of the 72-man field, which would make playing well enough to qualify for The Open with totally new equipment extremely difficult.

So, after a day of frustration, McDowell cut his losses and withdrew from the qualifier.

While McDowell missed this opportunity to qualify, he’s not totally out of time to qualify for the British Open. He is set to compete in the Irish Open later this week and the Scottish Open next week — both of which offer qualification spots for the leading non-exempt players who finish in the top 10.

AP/FRANK FRANKLIN II Graeme McDowell pulled out of a 36hole qualifying tournament for the British Open because an airline lost his golf clubs. McDowell did not want to take any chances playing with rental clubs with three spots in the British Open at stake.