Only a few minutes ago, PGA Tour Communications confirmed the exit of Michael Kim from the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open. The PGA Tour event this week at Torrey Pines has already been plagued by many withdrawals. So, the news didn’t come as a surprise. Notably, the 32-year-old took to social media to reveal the ‘disappointing’ reason behind his withdrawal.

In response to PGA Tour Communications’ announcement, Kim tweeted, “I’ve been dealing with a back strain these last few weeks and I was hoping for it to improve but it hasn’t. I’m taking a week off to get healthy for this next stretch. Really disappointing to miss my hometown event. I’ll be back next yr.”

Kim has been troubled with back issues for quite some time now. He faced similar challenges just before the 2024 ISCO Championship as well. While he still went on to play the event, Kim ended up missing the cut and exiting the tournament early as a result.

The back injury reoccurred in 2025 when he was participating in the Truist Championship. While he performed well in the first couple of rounds of the event, the pain aggravated on the Saturday of the tournament. That led to his withdrawal from the third round after playing only 12 holes.

After playing for two consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour, it seems that Kim is facing issues with his back again. He played the Sony Open in Hawaii and the American Express to begin the 2026 season. Considering the travel, practice, and performance stress, he might have strained his back over the last couple of weeks.

Interestingly, his performance has also been deteriorating since the 2026 season began.

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Was Michael Kim’s deteriorating form a sign of injuries to come?

Michael Kim ended the 2025 season on a positive note. He captured the Open de France title at the Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche by beating Brooks Koepka & Co. His run of dominance on the European Tour continued at the DP World India Championship as he finished T9 at the event. Kim got a few other great finishes to end the year on a high.

But he didn’t kick off 2026 as well as he would have liked. Playing at the Waiʻalae Country Club, Kim got a T31 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. His form dipped further as he missed the cut at the American Express by two strokes. And now, he has withdrawn from the Torrey Pines event due to a back strain.

Looking at how things have been going for the 1-time PGA Tour champion over the past couple of weeks, he may have pushed himself a little too hard to compete. That might have led to the injury he is suffering from right now.