Hamstring injury forces Clarke out of Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AFP) –

Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland plays a shot during the second round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the Emirati capital on January 18, 2013. Clarke, the 2011 British Open champion from Northern Ireland, announced he was withdrawing from the Masters on Monday after suffering a pulled hamstring while on vacation in the Bahamas.

Darren Clarke, the 2011 British Open champion from Northern Ireland, announced he was withdrawing from the Masters on Monday after suffering a pulled hamstring while on vacation in the Bahamas.

Clarke missed last week’s US PGA Texas Open because of the injury, suffered more than a week ago on the island of Abaco. He is continuing treatment in the Bahamas and has decided on a timetable for his return to competitive golf.

“It is with deep regret that I will not be able to play at Augusta this year,” Clarke said in a statement on his website. “Playing in the Masters is one of golf’s greatest pleasures and I am very disappointed to be missing out.”

Twice-a-day treatments did not bring Clarke, 44, back to fitness enough to cope with the undulating terrain of Augusta National Golf Club.

Clarke’s best result at the Masters was a share of eighth in his 1998 debut. He missed the cut last year in his 11th appearance.