Lucas Glover pulls out of Sony Open

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HONOLULU -- Lucas Glover is leaving Hawaii without hitting a single shot in competition.

Glover limped from the practice range back to his hotel room Wednesday after withdrawing from the Sony Open with a sprained right knee that still is not strong enough for him to play golf.

"It's getting better," Glover said. "But I'm not going to risk making it worse."

The former U.S. Open champion sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee on Dec. 31 during a freak paddle boarding accident upon arriving on Maui for the PGA Tour's season opener. His foot caught the side of the board as he fell into the water, sending his body one direction and his knee the other.

Glover withdrew from the Tournament of Champions but thought he might be able to play the Sony Open because Waialae Country Club is relatively flat and easier to walk.

He hit three wedges and a 9-iron on the range before his pro-am before deciding to withdraw.

"It was a long shot, but I was here and I wanted to try if I could," he said.

Glover doesn't believe the injury is more than a mild sprain, "it's just taking a little longer to heal." He planned to fly home to Sea Island on the Georgia coast and see another doctor to make sure it's nothing worse, and he hoped to be in San Diego in two weeks for the Northern Trust Open at Torrey Pines.

The timing for an injury is tough for Glover. A winner last year at the Wells Fargo Championship, he is No. 71 in the world ranking and had hoped to play a full West Coast schedule to get into the Match Play Championship (for the top 64 in the world) at the end of February, and perhaps another World Golf Championship event at Doral in early March.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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