Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from The Players Championship about an hour before the start of his first round, citing a back issue. The nature of the injury was not disclosed by the PGA Tour.
Matsuyama’s title defense at Augusta National, where he became the first Japanese man to win a major, is less than a month away. This season, he has won two tournaments: the Zozo Championship in Japan in the fall and the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.
Patrick Rodgers took Matsuyama’s place on the field.
