Kevin Na withdrew from the 2021 Open Championship on Thursday, a week before its scheduled start, because of international travel requirements. Na qualified for the tournament after climbing inside the top 50 of the OWGR after the PGA Championship earlier this year.
Cam Davis, who secured his first career victory last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, was in line to replace Na in the field for the 149th Open Championship at Royal St. George's. However, Davis declined the invitation because he is unable to travel. Two-time major championship Martin Kaymer is next on the reserves list and he will take the spot in The Open field. The next three reserves are Andy Sullivan, Antoine Rozner and Troy Merritt.
"It was a tough decision but for my family and me it is best to skip The Open this year," Na said in a statement from the R&A. "I will be back next year, it is one of my favorite weeks and I would love to hold the Claret Jug one day."
Na is the second American to withdraw from The Open field this year joining Charles Howell III. Eight golfers, excluding past champions, have withdrawn, including a duo of South Korean stars in Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim. Im and Kim are Olympic qualifiers for South Korea who are spending their time instead preparing for this month's Olympic games.
Na, who is playing the John Deere Classic this week in Illinois, has played in The Open eight times during the course of his career, with his career-best finish of T22 coming at Royal Troon in 2016. He won for the first time on the PGA Tour since 2019 earlier this year when he took home the Sony Open in Hawaii.
