For the second consecutive week on the PGA Tour, a top-5 player has withdrawn from a spotlight event with back pain.
Collin Morikawa withdrew Thursday morning from the Players Championship, playing one hole (he started on No. 10, making a par) and then wincing in pain after taking a practice swing on the 11th tee.
Collin Morikawa has withdrawn from @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/HsffCRoKH4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2026
“I felt fine in warm-up, like nothing's been any signs of back problems,” Morikawa said. “And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. 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, the No. 4 player in the world, was among the betting favorites to win at the Tour’s flagship event, having won last month at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and coming in off a solo fifth at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I've had this stuff before, and been healthy all throughout the year, been moving weight and pushing, going fast,” Morikawa said. “I don't know, like, before I even took my practice swing, it's like you had, like a weird, like deja vu thing. I took the practice swing and immediately knew, like, I just couldn't get through impact. So at that point called over my trainer, and talked about it with my caddie Mark, and it just sucks. I don't know how to put it in words.”
Last week at Bay Hill, world No. 2 Rory McIlroy withdrew prior to his Saturday tee time with back pain and did not arrive to TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday, opting to stay home in South Florida to get treatment. On Wednesday he hit balls on the range for less than an hour, walked nine holes to chip and putt and said he’d be a “game-time decision” for his Thursday afternoon tee time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Collin Morikawa Withdraws After One Hole at Players Championship.
