Collin Morikawa WDs from Players Championship with back injury

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Collin Morikawa withdrew from the Players Championship early Thursday morning with a back injury.

The two-time main winner and winner of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am this season had performed just one gap in his opening spherical when he took a full-speed follow swing on the eleventh tee and backed off.

Morikawa, who was one of many favorites at TPC Sawgrass this week, reached for his back and grimaced earlier than calling for a coach. He spent a while assessing his standing earlier than being carded off the golf course and formally withdrawing from the match.

Morikawa additionally had some lingering back points in 2021 on the Tokyo Olympics and in 2023, forcing him to withdraw from the Memorial match that 12 months.

Earlier this week, Morikawa spoke about how his current play has been anchored by an offseason the place he targeted on his physique.

“Honestly, coming into this year I had a lot of confidence,” Morikawa mentioned. “I put a lot of work into my body just to get stronger in general, get healthier, get strong, get fitter.”

Morikawa, 29, who leads the FedEx Cup within the early going, has three top-10 finishes this season and has been exhibiting a number of the greatest kind he has had in recent times. Aside from the win at Pebble Beach earlier this 12 months, he completed in fifth place on the Arnold Palmer Invitational final week.