Paul Casey pulled out of next week's season-ending Dubai World Championship with a rib injury on Saturday and will miss out on finishing at the top of the European Tour money list.
The 32-year-old Englishman had only just returned to action after being sidelined for three months with an injury he picked up practicing for the British Open in July and was fifth in the Race to Dubai.
He returned for World Match Play Championship in Spain two weeks ago but then withdrew early in the final round of last week's HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
"Paul will not play, sadly," said Casey's manager, Guy Kinnings. "His intercostal muscle is not torn again, but it is inflamed and he cannot risk it in Dubai."
His withdrawal completes a sad end to a season which promised so much for the Englishman, who appeared destined for his best ever year at the halfway stage.
He won a tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, reached the final of the Accenture Match Play in Arizona and won his first PGA Tour event at the Houston Open. His victory at the BMW PGA at Wentworth took him to third in the world rankings just before the British Open but then came the injury. He has since slipped to fifth.
Citing weariness after a heavy schedule playing tournaments all over the world, Anthony Kim, the American who finished runner-up to Ross Fisher at the Match Play, decided not to play in Dubai, which involves the leading 60 money winners on the European Tour. Because neither will be replaced, Casey's absence means the field is down to 58.
