Players Championship: Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama WDs

The flagship tournament of the PGA Tour, the Players Championship, started on Thursday morning local time in Florida. At the TPC Sawgrass, however, the fans will have to do without another top-class player. Hideki Matsuyama has cancelled his participation in the “fifth major” at short notice due to injury.

Players Championship: Hideki Matsuyama withdraws

The Japanese player is suffering from a “persistent back injury”, the PGA Tour announced. Hideki Matsuyama was supposed to play the first two rounds at TPC Sawgrass together with Joaquin Niemann and Cameron Smith. However, due to the injury of the reigning Masters champion, Patrick Rodgers will now tee off for Matsuyama.

Hideki Matsuyama is a WD from THE PLAYERS Championship due to a back injury.

Patrick Rodgers replaces Matsuyama in the field.

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 10, 2022

Matsuyama already with two wins on the PGA Tour this season

Matsuyama is generally in good form this season. The 30-year-old won already two times on the PGA Tour and recorded two top-10 finishes. Most recently he finished tied for 20th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. As a result, the FedExCup runner-up was considered one of the favourites to win the Players Championship. Matsuyama stood at the top of the leaderboard when the tournament was cut short by corona in 2020. After Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods, Matsuyama is thus the next well-known professional to miss the tournament. In a few weeks, the first Major of the year will begin for professional golfers. At Augusta National, Matsuyama will tee off as the defending champion. How serious the injury of the Japanese Major winner is and whether his participation in the Masters is in danger is still unclear at the moment.