Westwood Ryder hopes hit by fever

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AKRON, Ohio -- Lee Westwood's late bid for an automatic Ryder Cup place was thwarted on Sunday when he withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational because of fever.

The 33-year-old Briton, who needed a top-six finish at Firestone Country Club to keep his Cup hopes alive, pulled out before the start of the final round.

Tied for 66th overnight after carding a 74 in Saturday's third round, Westwood has next week's BMW International Open in Munich to advance his claims.

The top five in the world points list on September 3 automatically qualify, plus the leading five in the European points standings not otherwise qualified from the world points list.

Captain Ian Woosnam will add his two wildcard selections later that day to complete the 12-man line-up for the September 22-24 showdown with the U.S. at the K Club in Ireland.

Westwood, who has represented Europe at the last four Ryder Cup matches, was 23rd in the European point list before this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

However, he is believed to be among the front-runners for Woosnam's two picks, along with fellow Britons Darren Clarke and Ian Poulter and Dane Thomas Bjorn.

American Fred Couples, winner of the 1992 U.S. Masters, also withdrew from WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday because of fever.

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