Double Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal tonight admitted defeat in his race to be fit for the Open Championship and was replaced in the field by American Tom Pernice.

The Spanish star has been battling a knee problem for the past month, pulling out of the French Open and then last week the Scottish Open before the start at Loch Lomond.

Olazabal flew back to Spain for intensive treatment over the weekend, but informed The Royal and Ancient Golf Club that he was having to pull out of the event starting at Carnoustie on Thursday.

Pernice was originally second reserve, but decided to fly across the Atlantic after fellow American Lucas Glover replaced injured Japanese player Shingo Katayama.

Pernice's call-up now puts Indian Jyoti Randhawa on stand-by for this week's event.

Olazabal, who returned last September to Europe's Ryder Cup side after a gap of seven years and helped them thrash the Americans at the K Club in Ireland, has not played now since the US Open in the middle of June.

He will be hoping to recover in time for next month's final major of the season, the US PGA in Tulsa, Oklahoma.