Thomas Pieters OUT of Portugal Masters but a golf fans' favourite will return!
DP World Tour pro Thomas Pieters has confirmed he won't be defending his title at the Portugal Masters but a fan favourite is making his return from injury.
DP World Tour pro Thomas Pieters has some good news and bad news ahead of the Portugal Masters.
Unfortunately, Pieters won't be able to defend his title. On the upside, that is because his partner is due to give birth.
Belgian Pieters, 30, has won six times on the European circuit. His last victory came at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship in January.
Before that, he captured the aforementioned Portugal Masters with a two-stroke victory last November. It was his first win in more than two years.
Related: Brother of DP World Tour pro calls for resignation of Keith Pelley
"Due to the imminent arrival of Baby Pieters I won't be able to defend my Portugal Masters title this week," Pieters wrote on social media. Time for some more doo-doo in my life."
Pieters, the World No. 35, is having a strong season. He currently occupies sixth in the Race to Dubai standings. Rory McIlroy leads the way with Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland and Will Zalatoris above the Belgian.
He has played in 15 events in the 2022 season with multiple top-10 finishes and was the runner-up at the BMW International Open in June.
That was the scene where Sergio Garcia reportedly flew off the handle when news of his £100,000 fine and suspension for playing in a LIV Golf Invitational was handed down.
Pieters may be having a good season but he was also involved in one of the most bizarre incidents we have seen in quite some time when he accidentally hit his golf ball at the Open de France in September.
Due to the imminent arrival of Baby Pieters I won’t be able to defend my Portugal Masters title this week. Time for some more doo-doo in my life… pic.twitter.com/4GwKXsBCmf
— Thomas Pieters (@Thomas_Pieters) October 24, 2022
A return for Beef...
Elsewhere, there will be a return to the game for Andrew "Beef" Johnston.
The 35-year-old Englishman has not played in a professional event in more than a year to an injury. The most frustrating part about the injury is that he doesn't know what the cause is. Even to this day.
He told the Strikers and Radar podcast that he has now been given the all-clear to return, adding: "I've seen two specialists. No one seems to know exactly what it is, which is probably the worst thing about it. I'm basically trying to find a diagnosis to get back on the course.
"It's frustrating because I was really looking forward to this season, so to find out I'm probably not going to play this year has been pretty insane. It did put me in quite a dark place for a bit."
Johnston may have alluded to being in a dark place, but he did find this neighbourhood drama involving a cat rather amusing during his time off.
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