The biggest story of the day from the first round of The Players Championship is that Collin Morikawa withdrew after just one hole.
The reason why was painfully obvious. The video showed that Morikawa made a practice move and immediately felt uncomfortable. After a brief meeting with his coach, it was determined that he could not continue in the race.
Morikawa issued a statement after the round saying he was pain-free up until that point:
“I felt good in the warmup. Like, nothing, no signs of back problems. And I went through it on 11, and I took a practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. Like I had the feeling before when it happened. And I just, I can’t get over it. Believe me, I would play if I could. It’s the worst.”
WD caused a stir for gamblers
Morikawa was a popular choice to win The Players or at least fight.
Our MGS power rankings had it ranked #1and Vegas ranked him as the third-best chance to take home the title.
All of that went out the window when he was forced to retire early in the morning before most of the field had hit a single shot.
But what about the punters or those who picked Morikawa in fantasy?
FanDuel voided all bets in Morikawa. For DraftKings, bets were shown as losses, but then refunded. In the case of a par, the odds are adjusted and the bet still hits if all other pieces are won.
Sportsbooks often refund tickets on early exits like this (although this is not always the case).
However, those who play daily fantasy on DraftKings could not replace Morikawa.
There are also many pools and golf leagues that have “one and done” systems. Those early WDs are painful.
Morikawa was taking a lot of heat and some even suggested he was “soft” because he didn’t try to play through injuries.
Taking Sean
If anyone is legitimately upset about this, I think that’s unfortunate.
There are risks with sports betting. This is the exact reason why people do it. The boy was injured in a practice move. Such things happen. You will survive.
I guarantee you Morikawa is more upset than anyone who gambles in tournaments.
Perhaps there is a conversation about transparency/injury reporting before events. Golf has been prone to guys trying to play hurt and then quickly retiring (although who knows if that was the case here).
With all the gambling scandals happening in other sports, the Tour should be more active in this area.
But for now, we can all leave Morikawa alone here.
Main photo caption: Morikawa starts at The Players Championship. (GETTY IMAGES/Ben Jared)
