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Japanese professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama has taken his name off of the upcoming WGC-DELL match play on Friday. This gave American Max Homa a free ticket to the knockout stages.
A fan page on Twitter called TRACKING HIDEKI shared the news and revealed the reason behind his withdrawal. It was a neck injury that forced him to leave the tournament midway.
"BREAKING: Hideki has conceded his match against Max Homa today, no official reason out yet but I assume due to his neck injury. Not the news we want to hear. Will update when I hear anything."
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Hideki Matsuyama pulls out of WGC-DELL Match Play due to neck injury
In order to force a playoff and determine who moved on to the knockout stages, Matsuyama needed to defeat Max Homa on Friday after splitting his first two matches this week at Austin Country Club.
Hideki Matsuyama gave up the game to Homa due to a neck injury. He spent approximately 20 minutes attempting to loosen up while warming up in the range.
In a statement released by Matsuyama through the PGA Tour's official website, he said:
"I experienced some stiffness in my neck this morning while warming up on the range, preventing me from making a full swing. As a precautionary measure, I decided to concede my match to Max and rest before moving on to the Valero Texas Open next week."
The withdrawal also eliminates Justin Suh, who would have needed to defeat Kevin Kisner and for Matsuyama to defeat Homa in order to advance to the playoffs to determine the group champion.
World number six Max Homa moved on from the group stage with a 3-0-0 record as a result of Matsuyama's withdrawal.
The Japanese golfer made his maiden PGA Tour appearance this week after finishing fifth at The Players Championship. In his eight outings, Matsuyama has only once made it to the WGC-DELL Match Play weekend.
In 2022, less than a week before starting his Masters defense, Matsuyama withdrew from the Valero Texas Open midway through the second round due to a neck issue.
Hideki Matsuyama's life and career
Born on 25 February 1992 Hideki Matsuyama is a professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He originates from Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan. He is also the first ever Japanese player to ever win a Major Championship.
When he was four, he was the first player in the game of golf with his father. He switched to Meitoku Gijuku Junior & Senior High School in Kochi Prefecture when he was in eight standards to get a better golf playing environment.
He earned his professional card in April 2013. Soon after he joined the Japanese Tour, he won the 2013 Tsuruya Open. After getting placed in the top 10 at the 2013 U.S. Open, Matsuyama climbed into the top 50 of the OWGR. Later in 2014, he joined the PGA Tour after his consistent performances on the Japanese circuit.
Hideki Matsuyama has won a total of 17 professional tournaments. On both the PGA Tour and the Japanese Tour, he has eight wins each. While, on the European Tour, he has won 3 tournaments.
