PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Collin Morikawa withdrew from THE PLAYERS Championship after one hole with a back injury.

Morikawa was seen in discomfort while taking a practice swing on the 11th tee box, just moments after making par on his opening hole of the day. After consulting a trainer and attempting to take a few more swings, Morikawa officially withdrew.

"I felt fine in warm-up," Morikawa said. "Like nothing's been any signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. Like I just had the feeling before when it's 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."

It’s a surprise development for one of the tournament favorites. Morikawa won earlier this year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and continued that strong play up to this event. He finished in a tie for seventh at The Genesis Invitational and fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

"I've had this stuff before, and been healthy all throughout the year, been moving weight and pushing, going fast. I don't know, like, before I even took my practice swing, it's like you had, like a weird, like déjà vu thing. I took the practice swing and immediately knew, like, I just couldn't get through impact," Morikawa said. "So at that point called over my trainer, and talked about it with my caddie Mark (Urbanek), and it just sucks. I don't know how to put it in words."

Ludvig Åberg and Si Woo Kim will play as a twosome for the rest of the first round and the entirety of the second round on Friday.