Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell has said that the reason he pulled out of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last week was due to the devastating Hurricane Dorian that hit the Bahamas earlier this month.
McDowell, who owns a house in the affected region, withdrew from the tournament last week via Twitter, citing a “personal issue”, but the Northern Irishman has said that he did so following an “emotional few weeks”.
“Friends and people that we care about just lost everything,” McDowell said. “It put things in perspective for me from a golf point of view.
“Trying to help people took a lot of focus off what I was doing. I didn’t get to practice and prepare as much as I would have wanted, from working on our place and trying to help people down there.
“People that we care about, people who are really good friends, their homes just got flattened. They’re now trying to get their lives back.”
The Bahamas were left devastated after being hit by Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 1, a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.
Earlier this month, Tiger Woods joined a group that is pledging $6 million to match donations for Hurricane Dorian relief and recovery efforts in the Bahamas.
“We’ve been trying to help with some fundraising efforts and we’ve been trying to rebuild,” McDowell added. “Mother Nature puts life in perspective with how cruel it can be.
“It has been really scary and my mind just hasn’t been on golf.
“Consequently, I just didn’t feel that I was ready to play at Wentworth. It’s been a very difficult few weeks and I’m looking forward to getting back on the golf course, refocusing and taking the next steps.”