Olympian, two-time major champion and Los Angeles native Collin Morikawa played one hole in The Players Championship Thursday but quickly withdrew due to an injury, the PGA Tour confirmed.
Morikawa was among the field of PGA superstars competing in the prestigious PGA Tour tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He teed off around 8:40 a.m. Thursday.
According to the PGA Tour, Morikawa has a back injury and was “seen in discomfort” while taking a practice swing on the 11th tee box right after his opening hole of the tournament.
The 29-year-old pro golfer could be seen holding his lower back right after the practice swing, pacing. At one point, he stood bent at the waist, with one hand on his club and the other on his back. He was driven away in a golf cart to the sounds of clapping, his face heavy with disappointment.
Morikawa told a PGA Tour official that after that practice swing, he “just knew it was gone.”
“I can’t swing through it,” he said. “Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.”
The Players Championship runs Thursday through Sunday; NBC and Golf Channel will broadcast the action from the links, and it’ll also stream on Peacock this weekend.
PGA star Rory McIlroy is the defending winner, and he and Scottie Scheffler have dominated the tournament in recent years. The winner’s prize this year is $4.5 million.
Who is Collin Morikawa?
Morikawa was born in Los Angeles in 1997. He’s a graduate of LA County’s La Cañada High School. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019.
Morikawa turned pro in 2019. He has seven PGA Tour wins under his belt, including two major championships: the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship, both during his debut.
He’s also competed in two Olympics: Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.