 Els is taking a week off to spend time with his family near London |
World number four Ernie Els has pulled out of this week's Deutsche Bank Championship, citing family reasons. The South African will miss the event at the TPC Boston to return home at Wentworth, Surrey, where his children will be going back to school.
He will return for the third of four FedEx Cup events in Illinois ahead of the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Els finished fourth in the first FedEx Cup event on the PGA Tour, the Barclays Classic in New York, on Sunday.
"I have been on the road now for almost eight weeks and it is important that I return home where my children will be preparing for their return to school," said Els.
"I regret having to miss such a prestigious and important tournament and I wish everybody there an enjoyable and successful week."
This week's event at the TPC Boston, which begins on Friday, features a field of 120 which will be cut to 70 for the BMW Championship which starts on 6 September.
The leading 30 players in the standings will then qualify for the Tour Championship where a $10m bonus in deferred compensation will be earned by the overall champion.
American Steve Stricker tops the FedExCup points standings after his victory at the Barclays Classic last weekend.
World number one Tiger Woods, who won last year's Deutsche Bank Championship by two strokes from 2004 winner Vijay Singh, is fourth in the FedExCup standings following his absence last week.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?