The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Rose now a doubt for BMW championship
Justin Rose has emerged as an injury doubt for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth due to a knee injury.
He cancelled a scheduled interview and has also withdrawn from today’s pre-tournament pro-am, although the 39-year-old hopes to be fit enough to join nine of his Ryder Cup team-mates in the field.
“Last Thursday I slipped and jarred my knee,” the world No 4.
“Since then I have been getting treatment on the injury and I have been working hard with Justin Buckthorp and my medical team away from the course in order to ensure I am able to play in this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
“Unfortunately, I have had to withdraw from Wednesday’s pro-am as a precaution, but I am doing everything I can to be fit to play on Thursday.”
Rose was 12th on his last appearance at Wentworth in 2017 and has twice finished runner-up in one of the European Tour’s flagship events.
Open champion Shane Lowry, meanwhile, believes he will need to secure a third victory of the season to achieve his goal of winning the Race to Dubai.
Lowry is top of the European Tour’s money list courtesy of his Open triumph at Royal Portrush and victory in Abu Dhabi in January but is just 400 points ahead of Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger.
The 32-year-old plans to play at least five events before the seasonending DP World Championship in Dubai and admitted he is eager to get back into action at Wentworth.
“I’ve played a couple of events in the States since the Open and coming back here this week it’s kind of new again where everybody is coming up and congratulating me,” said Lowry, who was awarded honorary membership of the European Tour on Tuesday.
“The first time I was announced as Champion Golfer of the Year was pretty cool.
“It’s a lovely title to have. But to be honest it has sunk in and I’m quite eager to get on with my golf and I’m looking forward to trying to achieve different goals I have the rest of the year.
“The Race to Dubai is the obvious one. I’m number one and I want to stay there, but I’m going to have to play some good golf and I’m going to have to maybe win again.
“But I’m just going to go out like I’ve been doing all year, day after day and try and shoot as good a score as I can and see where it leaves me the at the end of it.
“First and foremost I want to win the Race to Dubai at the end of the year.”
Wentworth could be the ideal venue for Lowry to get the win he feels he needs, the Irishman having recorded five top-15 finishes in last seven starts at European Tour headquarters, including finishing runner-up to Rory McIlroy in 2014.