Aug 11 (Reuters) - European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke on Tuesday backed the decision by his tour to drop the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational from its schedule next year.
The WGC event, won by Irishman Shane Lowry in Akron, Ohio, on Sunday, in recent years has been played the week before the PGA Championship.
Though played in the United States, it has been an official European Tour event, meaning that it counts towards that tour's money list and Ryder Cup ranking.
But the inclusion of golf at next year's Rio Olympics in August has forced the PGA Tour to bring the Bridgestone forward by more than a month to June 30-July 3, setting up a clash with the French Open.