Daniel Berger, highest-ranked player in the field, withdraws from John Deere Classic, cites injury

Daniel Berger withdrew from this week’s PGA Tour stop at the John Deere Classic on Monday.

Berger, a four-time Tour winner and member of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team last year, didn’t specify his injury, but Tweeted that he is “working on getting back to 100% but do not feel prepared to tee it up on Thursday.”

Berger previously withdrew from the Vidanta Mexico Open in May prior to the start of the event and also had to pull out of his title defense in February at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. At the time, he said he was dealing with a joint sprain in his lower back. He told PGA Tour.com that he suffered a sacroiliac joint sprain, the part of the body that links the lower spine to the pelvis, earlier this year and played through it at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open.

“You have a long season ahead of you and you have to think about events in the future and I didn’t want to do something that was going to make it harder for me to come back in the weeks going ahead,” Berger said in February.

Gutted to have to withdrawal from the @JDCLASSIC this week. I am working on getting back to 100% but do not feel prepared to tee it up on Thursday. I want to wish all the players luck and thank @JohnDeere for their continued support.

— Daniel Berger (@DanielBerger59) June 27, 2022

Berger hasn’t been “straight vibin’,” as he likes to say for most of the year, and has been limited to 12 starts this season, most recently at the U.S. Open. It marked his second straight missed cut at a major. The 29-year-old enters the week ranked 25^th in the Official World Golf Ranking and was the highest-ranked player in the field at the John Deere Classic, held at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

Berger signed a deal with tournament sponsor John Deere in April to serve as a charitable ambassador and began using a branded John Deere bag at the Masters.

He was tentatively scheduled to meet with the media Wednesday ahead of the tournament as one of its top attractions. Berger was replaced in the tournament by Matt Every.

Berger is exempt for the 150^th British Open at St. Andrews in two weeks.