With a good momentum, Collin Morikawa entered TPC Sawgrass to sweep his first The PLAYERS Championship title. His fate had other plans, though. Only a few minutes into the first round, he had to withdraw due to an unexpected injury while practicing his swing.

“Collin Morikawa WD at @THEPLAYERS due to injury. Looked like he tweaked his back with a swing on the 11th tee (his 2nd hole of the day),” Jeff Eisenband from the PGA Tour reported.

Morikawa entered the week first in the FedExCup Standings and had the third-shortest betting odds after Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. They also shared a picture of the golfer and his caddie speaking to a tournament official after the incident. Interestingly, replays from the moment he picked up the injury show he wasn’t even trying to drive the ball.

While setting himself up for the par-5 11th hole, which was his second for the day, he was practicing his swing. It looked like he overstretched his back on his downswing or follow-through.

“Oh man,” Morikawa gasped, which was picked up on the Tour broadcast.

Morikawa walked away from the tee holding his back, while his playing partners, Ludvig Aberg and Si Woo Kim, who will continue their rounds in a twosome, looked at him in surprise. After some light stretches, the seven-time PGA Tour winner decided to withdraw. He looked visibly distressed while leaving in a golf cart. He shared some updates from the clubhouse:

“I felt fine in warm-up. Nothing’s been any signs of back problems,” the 29-year-old said. “And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone.

“I just had the feeling before when it’s [sic!] happened. And I just, I can’t swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.”

This was the second time a golfer withdrew from the PLAYERS Championship this year.

Before Morikawa, Ryan Fox of New Zealand pulled out of the tournament before teeing off. However, Morikawa’s withdrawal came as a shock, as he was the tournament favorite and looked all set to conquer TPC Sawgrass.

At the moment of withdrawal, Morikawa was at even par. This is a huge blow for the 29-year-old, as he was on a hot run, snapping his winless drought in February at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Since then, he netted two back-to-back top-ten finishes at the Genesis Invitational (T7) and the Arnold Palmer Invitational (5).

The recent injury bears an uncanny resemblance to his 2023 Travelers Championship withdrawal. At that time, Morikawa, just two shots behind the 54-hole leader, withdrew just before the final round due to a back spasm. Oddly enough, the seven-time PGA Tour winner injured himself while warming up.

The cameras showed him stretching, and while he tried to pick something up, he hurt his back. Collin Morikawa returned to the green two weeks later at the U.S. Open, bagging a T14. However, the injury resurfaced in November, just a month after he broke his two-year-long trophy drought by winning the 2023 Zozo Championship. Morikawa eventually pulled out of The Netflix Cup.

The severity of the most recent injury is yet to be known. However, withdrawing from the flagship event will be quite disappointing for Morikawa, especially considering his form as of late.

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Will the injury break lead to a loss of momentum for Collin Morikawa?

After finishing T10 last year, the two-time major champion was a tournament favorite at TPC Sawgrass. Morikawa’s spectacular approach play (5th in Strokes Gained: Approach to Green and 3rd in approaches from 175-200 yards) was expected to land him the first PLAYERS Championship title.

Collin Morikawa didn’t kick off 2026 with the best result. He missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii after shooting an even par. The T54 finish at TPC Scottsdale was also not as exciting as he had hoped for. However, the 29-year-old ended his 847-day winless streak by capturing the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am title and maintained the momentum in the next couple of events.

Moreover, there were no signs of Morikawa having any back issues before the beginning of the tournament. In fact, the only pro who was remotely at risk of suffering through back issues was Rory McIlroy. Unlike Morikawa, the Irishman was already recovering from an injury he sustained last week. There were doubts about him even joining the field at TPC Sawgrass this week.

But after withdrawing from the PLAYERS Championship, he might be at risk of losing the momentum he has built over the last few weeks. If the recovery period is long, then Morikawa might find it difficult to rediscover his swing when he eventually returns.