Two-time main winner Collin Morikawa withdrew from the US PGA Tour Memorial match on Sunday resulting from again spasms that might jeopardize taking part in within the US Open in two weeks.
The 26-year-old American shared ninth on 212, solely two strokes off the lead getting into the ultimate spherical at Muirfield Village, however damage himself stretching and didn’t begin.
“Muscle in the lower back, just kind of gave out,” Morikawa mentioned.
“We were doing some like reflex stuff, trying to reach down and try to pick something up like quick and low. Went after it weird.
“Literally have never had this in my life. I’ve hurt may back briefly before, but like nothing has been this bad, especially never warming up, never doing anything pre-round.”
Morikawa, who gained the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open, suffered the setback 11 days earlier than the opening spherical of this 12 months’s US Open in Los Angeles.
“When you reach a little too low and you reach too fast, stuff like that happens,” he mentioned.
“Unfortunately, it just happened at the wrong time.”
Morikawa, ranked 18th on the planet, mentioned he by no means thought of making an attempt to struggle by way of and play with two majors and the PGA playoffs coming within the subsequent three months.
“It sucks,” Morikawa mentioned. “I think it’s the first tournament I’ve ever withdrawn from in my entire life.
“I’ve played well and put ourselves in contention, but I have to look out for myself and got to be smart. We still have a handful of tournaments left before playoffs. Obviously the US Open and the British Open is going to be plenty enough for me to get ready. But just bad, bad time.”
Morikawa mentioned he pulled a muscle in his left aspect in faculty however that harm was nothing like his newest.
“I crashed to the ground, just random spasm,” he mentioned.
“It wasn’t lingering, it wasn’t going through my body. It was just a spasm in my back. Literally tried to hit 10 balls. Hit my 9-iron. Chunked 9-iron about 95 yards. I don’t think that’s playing out here at Muirfield Village.”
The solely victory for Morikawa since he captured the Claret Jug two years in the past at England’s Royal St. George’s was the 2021 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Morikawa, a five-time winner on the US PGA Tour, mentioned he was not overly involved however vowed by no means to strive such a stretch transfer once more.
“Recover, get some work done. That’s all I can do,” he mentioned.
“I’m not too worried about it. I do want to be 100% by the end of next week so I can get some really good work in. Just not a time in the season where you want it to happen.
“Just freak little accident warming up. Never doing that exercise again.”