Hideki Matsuyama was forced to withdraw from the WGC-Match Play in Texas due to a neck injury, which resulted in his scheduled opponent Max Homa going straight through into the round of 16.
Homa secures a knock-out place at the Match Play for the first time in three attempts after previously beating Justin Suh and Kevin Kisner this week, both by 3&2 margins.
With Matsuyama beating Kisner but losing to Suh, he could have forced a playoff with Homa had he beaten the American in Friday’s third match.
However, the neck injury that has been bugging the former Masters champion forced him to withdraw from the event before teeing off at Austin Country Club.
After arriving at the course, Matsuyama tried to warm-up and spent time on the range testing out his neck, but decided that he wasn't fit enough to play.
Worryingly for Matsuyama, it’s the second time in five months that he’s had to pull out of a tournament due to the neck injury – having also withdrawn from the Houston Open in November.
With the Masters coming up quickly, the 2021 champion must be concerned about his prospects of competing at Augusta National.
The 31-year-old had been in decent form as well, having finished fifth at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, so would have been well fancied to challenge again at Augusta.
For Homa, he gets to play the WGC-Match Play knockout rounds for the first time, to continue the good form he’s shown this season with two wins already, in the Fortinet Championship and Farmers Insurance Open.
Homa has moved up to a career-high sixth in the world and is second in the FedEx Cup standings behind Jon Rahm, and making the last 16 in Austin means he is guaranteed a T9 finish.
