Thursday 23 April 2015 19:37, UK
Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey have joined Ian Poulter as absentees from next month's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Englishman Poulter confirmed on Wednesday that he was going to miss the European Tour’s flagship event and three more of Europe’s top players have now opted out, the European Tour has revealed.
Course redesigner Ernie Els has masterminded major alterations to Wentworth in recent years and the changes have not met with unanimous approval by the players.
It has never been a happy hunting ground for Swede Stenson, Spaniard Garcia or Poulter, but Arizona-based Casey has good memories of the West Course layout in Surrey.
Englishman Casey won the PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2009 and also lifted the World Match Play title at the same venue in 2006.
World No 3 Stenson has only managed two top-10 finishes since making his debut in the tournament in 2001, while 10th-ranked Garcia went 12 years between 2001 and 2012 without playing in the competition.
Poulter has become embroiled in a row on social media after making his feelings clear about the tournament on his Twitter account.
"I've played 13 PGAs at Wentworth and had 1 Top 10," he tweeted. "I've had 8 MC (missed cuts). Would (world record sprinter) Usain Bolt compete in a marathon? I didn't think so ... Enough said."
World No 1 Rory McIlroy will, however, be back to defend his BMW PGA Championship title when the event gets under way on May 21.
World No 9 Justin Rose and US Ryder Cup player Patrick Reed are also among the leading players set to compete in the event that carries a prize fund of five million euros.
