Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the sixth signature event of the PGA Tour. The tee-off was made in threesomes due to inclement weather. He was scheduled to tee off with Viktor Hovland and Sahith Theegala on the first day in North Carolina, but moments ahead of a rain delay, he walked off. Matsuyama had won the Genesis Invitational this year, defeating Will Zalatoris and Luke List by three strokes. The golf world was rooting for him to achieve another victory for the season, but he could barely create a campaign for himself, leaving the entire audience outraged. 

The 9X PGA Tour winner stated that he had severe back pain, as a result of which he would not be able to play. He said, “I suffered tightness in my back this morning during training and it never loosened up enough to start the first round.” However, he also wished the remaining players on the field good luck before leaving and added, “I want to thank Wells Fargo and everyone at Quail Hollow for their warm hospitality. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tee it up today, and best wishes for another great event.”

This is not the first time that his back has caused trouble in the middle of the game. Earlier at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year, he had tremendous back pain, and his leg went numb. But he still finished the tournament. “My leg is a little numb right now, so it’s not the perfect condition. My back was not feeling perfect, but I was hitting and protecting myself. I feel like I was able to keep the momentum from the previous tournament, so I think that helped,” he said earlier. 

Earlier this week, Ludvig Aberg withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship because he was suffering from a knee injury. And now, Matsuyama’s willful decision to not be a part of the field leaves only 68 players to compete in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Golf World advises Hideki Matsuyama to retire

Hideki Matsuyama has been plagued with health injuries for quite some time now. The health hassles have been detrimental to his golf career. Especially in the last two seasons, he had withdrawn himself from four events on the tour, which included the Cadence Bank Houston Open after the first two rounds, the BMW Championship after the first round in 2023, and the Valero Texas and 3M, both after playing the first rounds in 2022.

With so many withdrawals in the past and yet not talking explicitly about what the injury is, Hideki Matsuyama has left his fans in agony. Being pissed at this point, one of them directly stated how he has been disappointed over and over by the golfer from Japan. They wrote, “This isn’t the first time he burns me”.

This season, Matsuyama broke a 38-year-old record at the Genesis Invitational but the very next event, the nine-time PGA Tour winner suffered from an injury scare at the Bay Hill event. The Japanese national did not receive any sympathy from his fans; rather, according to one fan, the golfer’s actions were completely unprofessional, and asked him to take a step back from the greens. They wrote, “This guy should retire from professional golf”. While another took a dig at the 32-year-old player’s back pain and how he has been using the long-term affected ail to his rescue for so many withdrawals, they simply commented, “Getting old fast”.

The fans were left frustrated due to all the last-minute withdrawals. Be it Tim Kim’s sudden illness that made him withdraw at THE PLAYERS after playing eight holes or Viktor Hovland’s withdrawal from the People’s Open earlier this season. Taking this into consideration, the fans left a few suggestions that the golf world could incorporate to not allow the ruckus to take place.

One of the followers advised, “This is trash. Standardize injury WD before the tournament starts.”Another exclaimed in sheer irritation and advised me to come up with some rule that does not affect the tournaments in between. They wrote, “#PGA #hidekimatsuyama is it not time for some rule changes? Every week after the start suddenly 1-2 WDs! That is not okay!”

The sudden withdrawals right before the commencement of the event or in between the rounds have indeed become a trend at PGA Tour events. After leaving the fans furious, will there be an imposition of some rules on the players? Or will the problem still prevail? Stay tuned to find out!