March 12, 2026Updated March 31, 2026, 11:47 a.m. ET

Collin Morikawa withdrew from the 2026 Players Championship due to a back injury.Morikawa was seen stretching in pain on the 11th hole before pulling out of the event.He entered the week as the FedEx Cup leader and was considered a favorite to win.This was Morikawa’s sixth appearance at The Players Championship.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Collin Morikawa withdrew from the 2026 Players Championship on Thursday citing a back injury.

“I felt fine in warm-up. Like nothing’s been any signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone,” Morikawa said. “I just had the feeling before when it’s 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.”

Morikawa teed off on No. 10 at 8:40 a.m. ET, and made a par but on the 11th tee, he took a practice swing and reached for his back. He was seen trying to do some stretches and called for a trainer. After a brief discussion, the world No. 4 elected to pull out of the Tour’s flagship event. Morikawa gave bro hugs to fellow competitors Ludvig Aberg and Si Woo Kim in his group and their caddies. He was carted back to the clubhouse and his week is over prematurely.

“I’ve had this stuff before, and been healthy all throughout the year, been moving weight and pushing, going fast. I don’t know, like, before I even took my practice swing, it’s like you had, like a weird, like deja vu thing. I took the practice swing and immediately knew, I just couldn’t get through impact,” Morikawa said. “So at that point called over my trainer, and talked about it with my caddie Mark, and it just sucks. I don’t know how to put it in words.”

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Morikawa entered the week as the FedEx Cup leader following his fifth-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month and was considered one of the favorites this week. Morikawa was making his sixth Players appearance, having collected his first top-10 finish in 2025 (T-10). He entered the week on a roll with 13 consecutive rounds under par, the longest active streak on the PGA Tour. 

“It’s just frustrating, because I don’t know what caused it,” Morikawa said. “Maybe something wasn’t activated enough or what, but I went through all the warmups, felt fine. Just, yeah, it’s awful. I feel terrible.”

More: Official World Golf Ranking for March 10: Collin Morikawa up to No. 4