Katayama pulls out of Open

Shingo Katayama has become the latest player to pull out of the upcoming Open Championship at Turnberry.

Back problems force Japanese player to withdraw

Shingo Katayama has become the sixth exempt player to pull out of the upcoming Open Championship at Turnberry. The Japanese golfer is still suffering from the back injury that forced him to miss the US Open in June and will be replaced by American debutant Steve Marino. Katayama managed an impressive fourth place finish in the US Masters in April but will now miss back-to-back majors. The 36-year-old's best showing at The Open came in 2003 when he finished tied for 34th at Sandwich in 2003, but he has only played in the tournament once since then. Many other top golfers will also be absent from the field when this year's Open commences on Thursday. World number two Phil Mickelson, former Masters champion Trevor Immelman, last season's European number one Robert Karlsson, New Zealander Tim Wilkinson and American Dudley Hart have all withdrawn from the tournament. Australian Rod Pampling and France's Thomas Levet have been put on stand-by and will be granted a starting berth if no non-exempt players finish in the top five of the Scottish Open or the John Deere Classic.