An inaugural PGA Tour stop in Texas Hill Country was set to begin with a full 120-player field. But before the first group even reached the tee, Christo Lamprecht was forced to withdraw.
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PGA Tour Communications confirmed the news on X, writing:
“Christo Lamprecht is a WD (back injury) prior to his first round at the Austin Championship presented by Compliance Solutions and is replaced by Will Gordon.”
The post didn’t say when the injury flared up or how serious it is. However, this isn’t the first time Lamprecht’s back has interrupted an important week. In 2024, a back injury forced Lamprecht, then the world’s top-ranked amateur, out of Georgia Tech’s lineup before the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Lamprecht secured his Tour card a year later, finishing ninth on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour points list. He also claimed the Pinnacle Bank Championship, holing a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to seal the win. That success followed an impressive amateur career, which included winning the 2023 Amateur Championship and earning low amateur honors at that year’s Open Championship.
His rookie season on Tour, however, has been a different story. Lamprecht hasn’t recorded a top-20 finish in his last ten starts and has missed the cut in eight of them. At last week’s World Wide Technology Championship, he shot 70-68-82-73. He currently ranks 168th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Total, with his length off the tee yet to translate into consistent results.
Taking his place in the field is Will Gordon, a Vanderbilt alum from Davidson, North Carolina. His best result of 2026 came in July, when he finished T4 at the Corales Puntacana Championship at 18-under.
However, he comes into Austin without much momentum, having missed the cut in each of his last three starts at the Bank of Utah Championship, Butterfield Bermuda Championship, and VidantaWorld Mexico Open.
The Field at the Austin Championship
The Austin Championship is a new addition to the Tour calendar and marks the first time the Tour will play the Fazio Canyons Course. The par-72 layout stretches 7,451 yards at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa and offers a $6 million purse. Renovated in 2022 with Tour-level golf in mind, the course features water hazards, angular tree lines, and plenty of length. The winner will take home $1.08 million and 500 FedExCup points.
But the timing of the event makes it particularly important. As the penultimate stop of the FedEx Cup Fall, it gives players one of their final opportunities to secure a place inside the top 100 and retain full Tour status for 2027.
Players ranked 51st to 60th also have a separate incentive, with those spots earning invitations to the Aon Next 10 for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational.
The field also features several players worth watching. Blades Brown returns after becoming the youngest PGA Tour winner in the modern era in Los Cabos. Austin Smotherman arrives on the back of consecutive victories at the Bank of Utah Championship and Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Jackson Koivun, meanwhile, is also in the field after being part of the winning Presidents Cup team.