Pádraig Harrington last night joined Francesco Molinari in confirming he won’t be making the long trek to San Francisco next week to compete in the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

The major winning duo have been replaced in the field by Talor Gooch and Troy Merritt.

In a statement, Harrington said:

“After much deliberation, I have decided not to travel to next week’s PGA Championship. As Covid-19 currently looks to be under control in Ireland, I am taking the prudent approach by following the guidelines and reducing the risk as much as possible by staying at home. I’m sure I’ll be watching every shot on TV with great interest and hopefully I’ll have many more years to play in the PGA Championship.”

The global COVID-19 pandemic has already forced Shugo Imahira, Eddie Pepperell, Thomas Pieters, Y.E. Yang and Lee Westwood to pull out.

Three-time major winner Harrington, who qualified for the event as the 2008 PGA champion, has withdrawn from just one other major, missing the 2005 Open Championship at St Andrews following the passing of his father Paddy.

The 48-year old Dubliner has not played since he missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational five months ago.

World No 33 Molinari, whose most recent event yielded a tied for 53rd in the WGC - Mexico Championship in February, announced in July that he was moving to California and hoped to return for the PGA Championship.

102nd PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Harding Park Golf Course/August 6 - 9, 2020

FIELD LIST

An, Byeong Hun – REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Ancer, Abraham - MEXICO

Auterson, Mike - Milford, Ohio (cp)

Balin, Danny - White Plains, N.Y. (cp)

Beach, Alex - Stillwater, Minn. (cp)

Beem, Rich - Austin, Texas

Berberian, Jr., Rich - Hooksett, N.H. (cp)

Berger, Daniel - Jupiter, Fla.

Bertsch, Justin - Naples, Fla. (cp)

Bezuidenhout, Christiaan - SOUTH AFRICA

Bradley, Keegan – Woodstock, Vt.

Cabrera Bello, Rafa - SPAIN

Campillo, Jorge - SPAIN

Cantlay, Patrick – Jupiter, Fla.

Caron, Jason - Greenlawn, N.Y. (cp)

Casey, Paul - ENGLAND

Champ, Cameron – Sacramento, Calif.

Conners, Corey - CANADA

Cook, Benny - Caledonia, Mich. (cp)

Dahmen, Joel – Clarkston, Wash.

Daly, John – Dardanelle, Ark.

Day, Jason - AUSTRALIA

DeChambeau, Bryson – Clovis, Calif.

Dufner, Jason – Auburn, Ala.

Duncan, Tyler - Columbus, Ind.

English, Harris – Sea Island, Ga.

Finau, Tony - Salt Lake City, Utah

Fitzpatrick, Matt – ENGLAND

Fleetwood, Tommy – ENGLAND

Fowler, Rickie – Murrieta, Calif.

Frittelli, Dylan – SOUTH AFRICA

Furyk, Jim - Jacksonville, Fla.

Garcia, Sergio - SPAIN

Gibb, Judd - Fort Dodge, Iowa (cp)

Glover, Lucas - Jupiter, Fla.

Gooch, Talor – Edmond, Okla.

Grace, Branden - SOUTH AFRICA

Griffin, Lanto - Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

Hadwin, Adam – CANADA

Harman, Brian – Sea Island, Ga.

Hart, Jeff - Solana Beach, Calif. (cp)

Hatton, Tyrrell – ENGLAND

Hebert, Benjamin - FRANCE

Herbert, Lucas - AUSTRALIA

Herman, Jim – Palm City, Fla.

Hoge, Tom – Fargo, N.D.

Holmes, J.B. - Campbellsville, Ky.

Homa, Max - Valencia, Calif.

Horschel, Billy – Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Hovland, Viktor – NORWAY

Howell III, Charles - Orlando, Fla.

Hubbard, Mark – Denver, Colo.

Hughes, Mackenzie - CANADA

Im, Sungjae - REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Ishikawa, Ryo - JAPAN

Janewattananond, Jazz – THAILAND

Jertson, Marty - Phoenix, Ariz. (cp)

Johnson, Dustin – Jupiter, Fla.

Johnson, Zach - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Johnson, Zach. J. - Farmington, Utah (cp)

Jones, Matt - AUSTRALIA

Kang, Sung – REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Kaymer, Martin - GERMANY

Kim, Chan - Gilbert, Ariz.

Kim, Joohyung - REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Kim, Si Woo - REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Kinhult, Marcus – SWEDEN

Kisner, Kevin – Aiken. S.C.

Kitayama, Kurt - Chico, Calif.

Knoll, Alex - Jim Thorpe, Pa. (cp)

Koepka, Brooks – West Palm Beach, Fla.

Kokrak, Jason - Hudson, Ohio

Kuchar, Matt - Sea Island, Ga.

Labritz, Rob - Pound Ridge, N.Y. (cp)

Landry, Andrew – Dripping Springs, Texas

Lashley, Nate - Scottsdale, Ariz.

Lee, Danny – NEW ZEALAND

Leishman, Marc - AUSTRALIA

Lewis, Tom – ENGLAND

Li, Haotong - CHINA

List, Luke – Augusta, Ga.

Long, Adam – St. Louis, Mo.

Lorenzo-Vera, Mike – FRANCE

Love III, Davis - St. Simons Island, Ga.

Lowry, Shane – IRELAND

Luiten, Joost - The NETHERLANDS

MacIntyre, Robert – SCOTLAND

Matsuyama, Hideki - JAPAN

McDowell, Graeme - N. IRELAND

McIlroy, Rory – N. IRELAND

Merritt, Troy – Meridian, Idaho

Micheel, Shaun – Memphis, Tenn.

Mickelson, Phil – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Mitchell, Keith - St. Simons Island, Ga.

Morikawa, Collin – La Canada, Calif.

Muñoz, Sebastián - COLOMBIA

Muttitt, David - Albuquerque, N.M (cp)

Na, Kevin - Las Vegas, Nev.

Niemann, Joaquin - CHILE

Norris, Shaun - SOUTH AFRICA

O’Leary, John - Sterling, Va. (cp)

Oosthuizen, Louis – SOUTH AFRICA

Ortiz, Carlos - MEXICO

Palmer, Ryan – Colleyville, Texas

Pan, C.T. - TAIWAN

Perez, Victor - FRANCE

Perry, Rod - Port Orange, Fla. (cp)

Piercy, Scott – Las Vegas, Nev.

Poston, J.T. - Sea Island, Ga.

Poulter, Ian – ENGLAND

Putnam, Andrew - Phoenix, Ariz.

Rahm, Jon – SPAIN 102nd

Reavie, Chez - Scottsdale, Ariz.

Redman, Doc – Raleigh, N.C.

Reed, Patrick - The Woodlands, Texas

Rose, Justin - ENGLAND

Roth, J.R. - Boyne Highlands, Mich. (cp)

Sabbatini, Rory – SOUTH AFRICA

Schauffele, Xander – San Diego, Calif.

Scheffler, Scottie - Dallas, Texas

Schwab, Matthias – AUSTRIA

Schwartzel, Charl – SOUTH AFRICA

Scott, Adam – AUSTRALIA

Simpson, Webb - Charlotte, N.C.

Singh, Vijay - FIJI

Smith, Cameron – AUSTRALIA

Snedeker, Brandt – Nashville, Tenn.

Sowards, Bob - Dublin, Ohio (cp)

Spieth, Jordan - Dallas, Texas

Steele, Brendan – Idyllwild, Calif.

Stenson, Henrik – SWEDEN

Straka, Sepp - AUSTRIA

Streelman, Kevin – Wheaton, Ill

Stricker, Steve – Madison, Wis.

Tanigawa, Ken – Scottsdale, Ariz.

Taylor, Nick – CANADA

Taylor, Vaughn – Augusta, Ga.

Thomas, Justin – Louisville, Ky.

Thompson, Michael – Sea Island, Ga.

Todd, Brendon – Athens, Ga.

Tringale, Cameron – Mission Viejo, Calif.

van Rooyen, Erik – SOUTH AFRICA

Varner III, Harold – Gastonia, N.C.

Vermeer, Ryan - Omaha, Neb. (cp)

Walker, Jimmy - Boerne, Texas

Wallace, Matt – ENGLAND

Waring, Paul - ENGLAND

Warren, Shawn - Portland, Maine (cp)

Watson, Bubba – Bagdad, Fla.

Wiesberger, Bernd – AUSTRIA

Willett, Danny – ENGLAND

Winner, WGC-FedEx St. Jude

Winner, Barracuda

Wolff, Matthew - Agoura Hills, Calif.

Woodland, Gary – Topeka, Kan.

Woods, Tiger - Jupiter, Fla.

(cp) designates PGA of America Club Professional

Alternates:

1. Henley, Russell – Columbus, Ga. (#87)

2. Clark, Wyndham – Denver, Col. (#89)

3. Stuard, Brian – Jackson, Miss. (#91)

4. Cauley, Bud – Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (#92)

5. Moore, Ryan – Las Vegas, Nev. (#93)

6. McCarthy, Denny – Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (#95)

7.Grillo, Emiliano – ARGENTINA (#96)

8.Zhang, Xinjun – CHINA (#97)