Hideki Matsuyama Injury Rumors: Golfer to Exit Tour Championship? Scary Back Pain Update Comes to Surface

Luck really hasn’t been in Hideki Matsuyama’s favor in the 2024 season so far. After a close call at the Paris Olympics, Matsuayma had to settle for the bronze medal, and it’s only been going down for the golfer ever since. After giving a top-notch performance and taking home the trophy at the first tournament of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, fans got the news that he withdrew from the BMW Championship, citing a back injury. But is that going to be the case at the Tour Championship as well? Well, it could be.

Matsuyama has secured his spot in the Tour Championship through automatic qualifying. This achievement comes after his impressive performance in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he took home the win with a score of 17 under par. Fans have been waiting for an update on the player ever since he withdrew from the second tournament of FedEx Playoffs. And well, Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis has come with the news, but it’s not what you might be thinking.

“According to his team, Hideki’s back is not 100% but he intends to play this week,” Lewis tweeted on X. So, there’s kind of a fifty-fifty chance that the golfer will be seeing at East Lake this week due to his back injury.

Matsuyama’s concern was that his withdrawal might impact his FedEx Cup ranking. However, he remains in third place, ensuring that he will start the Tour Championship at 7-under if he chooses to participate. Unfortunately, the BMW Championship was not the first time the golfer withdrew from a tournament because of his back surgery.

Hideki Matsuyama’s history with his back injury

Hideki Matsuyama’s withdrawal from Castle Pines was a déjà vu moment. For the second year in a row, the Japanese pro was forced to quit the BMW Championship due to a lower back problem. Last year, this setback cost him a spot in the TOUR Championship, which broke his nine-year streak of back-to-back appearances. That was also not the only time he withdrew from a tournament.

However, Matsuyama had been there before. In 2022, he pulled out of THE PLAYERS Championship with a back injury. Which made him the only the second reigning Masters champion to miss the event since Bubba Watson in 2012. Hideki Matsuyama has withdrawn from several tournaments in 2024 due to back problems. He also withdrew from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Wells Fargo Championship, and with the TOUR Championship on the line, it’s difficult to predict what will happen. Matsuyama will start three strokes behind leader Scottie Scheffler, but he can quickly catch up. Do you believe he will eventually break the curse and make a successful comeback? Let us know in the comments section!