PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Collin Morikawa withdrew from the Players Championship early Thursday morning with a back injury.
The two-time major winner and winner of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am this season had played only one hole in his opening round when he took a full-speed practice swing on the 11th tee and backed off.
“I felt fine in warm-up. Like no signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone,” Morikawa said. “Like I just had the feeling before when it’s happened. And I just, I can’t swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.”
Morikawa, who was one of the favorites at TPC Sawgrass this week, reached for his back and grimaced before calling for a trainer. He spent some time assessing his status before being carted off the golf course and officially withdrawing from the tournament.
Morikawa also had some lingering back issues in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics and in 2023, forcing him to withdraw from the Memorial tournament that year.
Earlier this week, Morikawa spoke about how his recent play has been anchored by an offseason where he focused on his body.
“Honestly, coming into this year I had a lot of confidence,” Morikawa said. “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 in the early going, has three top-10 finishes this season and had been showing some of the best form he had in recent years. Aside from the win at Pebble Beach earlier this year, he finished in fifth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.
