Golf fans are wondering what happened to Hideki Matsuyama after he suddenly withdrew from the 2024 BMW Championship on Friday, August 23, despite leading after the first round. Those who follow the popular Japanese golfer may not be too surprised, though, since he has suffered many injuries over the last few years that have taken him out of various tournaments. Despite his health troubles, Matsuyama is still ranked within the Top 10 golfers in the world and third in the FedEx Cup leading up to the championship. Here’s the latest update on Hideki Matsuyama’s injury that forced him to withdraw in August 2024.
Why Did Hideki Matsuyama withdraw from the 2024 BMW Championship?
Hideki Matsuyama was forced to withdraw from the 2024 BMW Championship due to a lower back injury.
This unfortunate news comes straight from the PGA Tour, with Matsuyama explaining what happened to him on Friday morning. In a statement, he said that he was “disappointed to have to withdraw from the BMW Championship after experiencing lower back discomfort while warming up this morning, which made it impossible to play today.”
If this sounds familiar, Matsuyama also withdrew from the 2023 BMW Championship due to a back injury. The golfer has been plagued with a string of back problems this year, with him needing to withdraw from the Wells Fargo Championship in May due to a back injury. He also experienced back pain during the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, though he was able tough it through.
The 2022 season wasn’t much better for him either, with a back injury forcing the 2021 Masters champion to pull out of the 2022 Players Championship and then neck injuries taking him out of the 2022 Valero Texas Open and the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open.
Despite his struggles, Matsuyama still won The Genesis Invitational in February, the FedEx St. Jude Championship earlier in August, and the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics behind gold medalist Scottie Scheffler. If he’s able to recover in time, he will still be able to play at the TOUR Championship next week on August 29.
