Hideki Matsuyama had a great start to 2024. With victory at the Genesis Invitational with a remarkable round of 62 on Sunday, things seemed to be going smoothly for the Japanese star. However, that didn’t seem to have lasted too long, with a setback now having emerged! The golfer had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am this week. So what does it mean for him?

Although there’s no confirmation yet as to whether or not the golfer has pulled out of the main event, his exit from the pro-am round itself raises many flags! And given that the reason cited behind his abrupt withdrawal was a “tweaked” back causing him “pain,” it brings to light his troubled past with injuries, making things all the more uncertain for the Signature event that begins on Thursday.

With his great form this year (with no cuts missed yet on the Tour and even 2 top 25 finishes, besides his win secured in 5 events), Hideki Matsuyama too will undoubtedly be hoping that this back pain is a “minor issue,” but the past sets a different precedence altogether. Injuries have been no stranger to the golfer over the past few years. And more often than not, they’ve forced him to make tough decisions, especially at some big events.

In August 2023, while playing in the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club, Matsuyama had to pull out ahead of the second round. The reason? You guessed it right: a back injury. Not only did that cost him that event, but it also caused him to miss out on the opportunity to advance to the Tour Championship that year, causing his season to end on a rather disappointing note.

While he is now suffering from the same injury that ended his season early last year, speculations are undoubtedly afloat. To further add to them, last year, ahead of the same event, he faced some trouble. Is he cursed when it comes to big events? While that, of course, may be a stretch, the happenings of 2023 only paint a more uncertain picture of his contention in Florida on Thursday.

Is history repeating itself for Hideki Matsuyama?

Over a year ago too, the Japanese golf pro was struggling with injuries. Suffering from trouble with his neck, which had coincidentally begun during the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational, the golf pro opened up about it in a press conference at the Sony Open in January 2023. “I’ve been having a little trouble with my neck recently. I wasn’t able to practice as much as I can for the last couple months,” he said, highlighting the seriousness of the issue.

What followed were multiple withdrawals during the year from the golfer due to his neck trouble. From pulling out of the Wells Fargo Championship in April to another untimely exit from the WGC-Dell Technologies Championship and even a dropout of The PLAYERS, the golfer could not find his groove.

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And now that he was finally able to return to the winner’s circle, it seems like his neck pain, which escalated into back trouble, is back to haunt him. Whether he’ll compete this week, ending his injury-bad luck streak, or walk down the same path as he did last year remains to be seen. Tune in to find out what fate has in store for Hideki Matsuyama.

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