Collin Morikawa’s week at The Players Championship is over after just one hole. The two-time major champion withdrew following a practice swing where he grimaced and clutched at his back.
Morikawa was one of the pre-tournament favorites at this event given that he’s already posted a victory this season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He finished T7 at the Genesis and solo fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend.
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“I put a lot of work into my body just to get stronger in general, get healthier, get strong guess, get fitter,” Morikawa said earlier this week at TPC Sawgrass. “It’s been nice to see the numbers that I’ve been producing out there, even at Pebble and Riv when it’s been a little bit cooler.”
He hinted at working on his lower back with intention during his swing. “The way I swing the golf club, like, I have to be able to turn. I have to be able to separate my lower body, separate the upper body, stay in essentially that bend through the ball, and just kind of rotate,” he said. “And it might look fine from afar, it might look fine in video, but when it comes down to it, it might not feel comfortable for me. Not pain-wise, but just being able to hit the shots I want and not being able to swing left and hit the cut.”
Clearly something didn’t feel right with his swing on Thursday morning. Morikawa’s playing partners Ludvig Åberg and Si Woo Kim will play as a twosome the remainder of Thursday and all day Friday.
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