Il Nuovo Postiglione - Two-time major winner Morikawa exits Memorial with back spasms

The 26-year-old American shared ninth on 212, only two strokes off the lead entering the final round at Muirfield Village, but hurt himself stretching and did not start.

"Muscle in the lower back, just kind of gave out," Morikawa said.

"We were doing some like reflex stuff, trying to reach down and try to pick something up like quick and low. Went after it weird.

"Literally have never had this in my life. I've hurt may back briefly before, but like nothing has been this bad, especially never warming up, never doing anything pre-round."

Morikawa, who won the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open, suffered the setback 11 days before the opening round of this year's US Open in Los Angeles.

"When you reach a little too low and you reach too fast, stuff like that happens," he said.

"Unfortunately, it just happened at the wrong time."

Morikawa, ranked 18th in the world, said he never considered trying to fight through and play with two majors and the PGA playoffs coming in the next three months.

"It sucks," Morikawa said. "I think it's the first tournament I've ever withdrawn from in my entire life.

"I've played well and put ourselves in contention, but I have to look out for myself and got to be smart. We still have a handful of tournaments left before playoffs. Obviously the US Open and the British Open is going to be plenty enough for me to get ready. But just bad, bad time."

Morikawa said he pulled a muscle in his left side in college but that injury was nothing like his latest.

"I crashed to the ground, just random spasm," he said.

"It wasn't lingering, it wasn't going through my body. It was just a spasm in my back. Literally tried to hit 10 balls. Hit my 9-iron. Chunked 9-iron about 95 yards. I don't think that's playing out here at Muirfield Village."

The only victory for Morikawa since he captured the Claret Jug two years ago at England's Royal St. George's was the 2021 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Morikawa, a five-time winner on the US PGA Tour, said he was not overly concerned but vowed never to try such a stretch move again.

"Recover, get some work done. That's all I can do," he said.

"I'm not too worried about it. I do want to be 100% by the end of next week so I can get some really good work in. Just not a time in the season where you want it to happen.

"Just freak little accident warming up. Never doing that exercise again."

A.Imbrogno--INP