Two years ago, as COVID-19 began shutting down major sports across the country, the PGA Tour decided to play the first round of the Players Championship anyway. Hideki Matsuyama opened the event with a course record-tying 63.
Then, golf stopped.
Last year, Matsuyama missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass, so 2022 was another opportunity for the major champion to make a run at the Players Championship trophy.
However, Matsuyama withdrew from Thursday morning, citing a back injury. Replacing the Japanese star in the field is former college standout Patrick Rodgers. Rodgers played in Orlando last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he eventually tied for 38th. Rodgers is currently ranked No. 233 on the Official World Golf Ranking and No. 115 on the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
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 is the first reigning Masters champion to miss the Players since Bubba Watson didn’t play in 2012, citing his desire to spend time with his wife and newly-adopted son.
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That year was also the last time two reigning major champions didn’t play in the Players. In addition to Watson, Darren Clarke, who won the 2011 British Open, elected not to play.
This year, Matsuyama joined Phil Mickelson as a reigning major champion who is not in the Players. Mickelson became the oldest major champion in history with his win in last year’s PGA Championship. Embroiled in controversy stemming from comments he’s made about the PGA Tour, commissioner Jay Monahan and the repressive Saudi Arabia regime, Mickelson has stepped away from the game for an unspecified time.
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