Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa entered the week as one of the picks to win at The Players Championship. A sudden back injury during the opening round changed everything.

World No. 4 Collin Morikawa completed one hole on Thursday before tweaking his back during a practice swing on the 11th tee box. The issue forced him to withdraw from the tournament.

As shared by Christopher Powers of Golf Digest on X on Thursday, Morikawa described the moment that led to his withdrawal.

“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. Like I just had the feeling before when it's happened. And I just, I can't swing through it," he wrote.

The 29-year-old also expressed his intent to continue playing: "Trust me, I would play if I could. It's just the worst thing in the world.”

His withdrawal also affected his playing partners. Since Collin Morikawa had already teed off at The Players Championship, he was not replaced in the field. That left his playing partners, Ludvig Åberg and Si Woo Kim, to compete as a duo.

The 2023 Zozo Championship winner arrived at TPC Sawgrass after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 15. The win marked his seventh career title on the PGA Tour and his first victory in a Signature Event.

Another Withdrawal at The Players Championship Before Collin Morikawa

Two-time PGA Tour Winner Ryan Fox withdrew from the tournament on Thursday due to kidney stones and spent the day in a hospital for treatment. He cited “illness” as the reason for his withdrawal.

The 2025 RBC Canadian Open winner later posted on Instagram that the situation was not a case of the flu or a stomach virus.

“Not exactly the week I had planned,” the thirty-nine-year-old wrote. “Unfortunately, some kidney stones took me down on Tuesday night, and then had to be dealt with surgically this afternoon. Devastated to miss out on such an amazing event, hoping to have a quick recovery and be back at it soon.”

While Collin Morikawa was not replaced after withdrawing from The Players Championship, as Morikawa had already started his round, Ryan Fox’s spot in the field was taken by alternate David Ford.

When do you think Collin Morikawa will return after withdrawing from The Players Championship? Tell us in the comments.

You can read more about The Players Championship at Club Golf.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi