Hideki Matsuyama did not come out to play the second round of the BMW Championship, the second play off of the FedEx Cup that is taking place in Denver, Colorado. Exactly the same thing that happened in 2023. And for the same reason: back discomfort. Specifically, this time, the Japanese golfer’s entourage has specified that the pains are in the lumbar area. Groundhog day in a Japanese version.
What has changed from one year to the next are the circumstances. A year ago Matsuyama was ranked 47th in the FedEx Cup before the BMW and started the tournament with a scorecard of 71 strokes. He therefore needed three very good days of golf to finish up and give himself a chance to qualify for the Tour Championship, where as you know only the top 30 from the FedEx play. However, with the withdrawal, obviously Matusyama missed the final. It was his first absence after nine consecutive years playing it.
The circumstances now are quite different. Matsuyama is third in the FedEx Cup after his victory last week at the FedEx St Jude Championship and had started the BMW very well. Yesterday Thursday he handed in a scorecard of five under par and was placed in the second position, just one stroke behind the leader Keegan Bradley. That is, he was in the fight to win for the second consecutive week. It is true that before starting the tournament he had already mentioned that he had back discomfort. He tried and could not continue. It should be remembered that the storm suspension affected him. He had to come back to finish his round. On the 18th hole he missed a putt of less than a metre to tie with Bradley.
The question now is whether he will be able to play the Tour Championship next week. In principle, this withdrawal from the BMW should simply be for protection, to prevent the problems from getting worse and that, precisely, he can play at East Lake, but we already know how treacherous these discomforts can be. Matusyama is 32 years old and has won 10 times on the PGA Tour, in addition to his spectacular victory at the Masters of Augusta.
