On Tuesday night, Paul Casey withdrew from the PGA Championship after it was revealed that new golf shoes had aggravated an existing toe and knee injury. The Englishman had been trying out the shoes prior to the event but, after receiving treatment on his knee and toe all day Tuesday, he was forced to withdraw and may be unlikely to feature in LIV Golf's Washington tournament on May 26th - 28th.
Following the withdrawal, the LIV golfer stated, via text to the Golf Channel, that: "I feel awful that I get an invitation and then can’t play. I talked to (PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh) about it. He was great.” He has since been replaced by PGA Tour rookie Sam Stevens.
Coming into the PGA Championship, Casey had been given a special exemption into the field after not meeting any of the official qualifying criteria. The reason was due to his performance in 2021, where he finished in a tie for fourth, and his status as a European Ryder Cup player.
Casey, who in fact missed last year's PGA Championship due to injury, had his problems over 2022 with the 45-year-old missing a large part of the year due to back problems.
During the season, he missed The Masters, PGA Championship and US Open, before joining LIV ahead of his first Major appearance of the season at The 150th Open. The withdrawal also means that two LIV players have now removed their names from the field, with Martin Kaymer deciding not to play last week whilst he was competing in the LIV Golf Tulsa event.
