[Photo: David Cannon]
Collin Morikawa was such a popular play among sharp bettors ahead of this week’s Players Championship that his odds were nearly slashed in half. Morikawa opened at 33-to-1 and closed at 16-to-1 ahead of his first-round tee-time at TPC Sawgrass.
Morikawa lasted all of one hole.
The two-time major champion, who had won, tied for seventh, and finished solo fifth in his previous three starts, seemed to pick up right where he left off at the par-4 10th, his first hole of the day. After hitting the fairway, he stuck his approach to 11 feet, just missing the birdie putt and settling for an opening par.
The 17-inch par putt wound up being his final stroke of the week. At the 11th tee Morikawa took an aggressive practice swing with his driver, immediately grabbed the lower right portion of his back, and walked to the back of the tee in pain:
A tough break for Collin Morikawa.pic.twitter.com/JJweftUjTh
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 12, 2026
“Oh man,” Morikawa could be heard saying on the PGA Tour Live broadcast. After some light stretches, he decided to call it.
Looks like that could be the end of the tournament for Collin Morikawa after tweaking his back. pic.twitter.com/NsEtvGcKBh
— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) March 12, 2026
After returning to the clubhouse, Morikawa confirmed that he felt fine during his warmup and that it was the practice swing that did him in.
“I felt fine in warm-up. Like nothing’s been any signs of back problems,” he said. “And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. Like I had the same feeling before, when it 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.”
