Wyndham Clark withdrew halfway through his second round at The Players Championship due to a neck injury.
The 2023 US Open champion carded a level-par 72 on Thursday and was four-over-par through nine holes on Friday before pulling out. His day got off to a rocky start after a double bogey on the par 5 2nd hole before a bogey at the 3rd and another dropped shot at the 5th.
At the time, Clark was five shots back of the cut line and in need of a strong back nine to make the weekend.
Clark finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler last year at TPC Sawgrass, alongside Xander Schauffele, after lipping out a birdie putt on the 72nd hole.
He is the second high-profile player to withdraw from the unofficial fifth Major this week after Jason Day pulled out with illness on Thursday morning.
Day was supposed to be playing in the featured group with Jordan Spieth and Clark but was replaced by Danny Walker. Walker, who lives in the Ponte Vedra Beach area and regularly plays TPC Sawgrass, revealed on Thursday that he went to his car before teeing off and had tears.
It means that both of Spieth's original playing partners have withdrawn this week, with the three-time Major winner and Walker completing the back nine on Friday afternoon as a two-ball.
Wyndham Clark currently ranks 8th in the world and has made the cut in five of his six starts so far this year before this week. He finished T22nd at Bay Hill last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
