DANNY Willett said his body and mind need a rest after a disappointing season continued with a withdrawal from the prestigious Players Championship due to a back injury.
Willett, pictured, who split with long-time caddie Jonathan Smart last month, was 11 over par for the so-called “fifth major” when he retired after nine holes of the second round.
The 29-year-old from Sheffield, hampered by back problems throughout his career, struggled to an opening 79 and had covered the back nine at Sawgrass in 40 before calling it a day. Willett wrote on Twitter: “Not good to have to withdraw but swinging very poorly is putting a lot of unwanted strain on the back... body and mind need a rest!!”
The former Masters champion has slipped from a career-high of ninth in the world to his current position of 21st after a string of poor results.
So far in 2017 he has failed to convert a three-shot 54-hole lead in Malaysia, finished 69th in the 77-man field in the WGC-Mexico Championship and was unable to reach the knockout stages of the WGC-Match Play in Austin.
Willett was also the first defending champion since Mike Weir in 2004 to miss the cut at Augusta National and made an early exit from his next event in the RBC Heritage. He split with Smart after the opening day at Harbour Town, with a member of Willett’s management company having to stand in for the second round.
Spain’s Jon Rahm and Canada’s David Hearn shared the lead on five under par, with Sergio Garcia just three off the pace.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here