The betting public was all over Collin Morikawa before The Players Championship.
Then disaster struck.
Morikawa made it through one hole on Thursday before tweaking his back during a practice swing on the 11th tee box, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament, devastating those who backed the American this weekend.
“I felt fine in warm-up,” Morikawa said. “Like nothing’s been any signs of back problems. Honestly, (on the) first hole, (I) felt great, hit two great shots, hit a great putt. Teed it up, nothing felt bad. (I) teed it up on 11 and took one practice swing and I just knew it was gone. It all hit me at one second, where I was like, ‘Something doesn’t feel right.’
“I took a practice swing, there it was, like not being able to swing. Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.”
Enjoying a ton of success early this season, Morikawa was a mega-popular pick to win at TPC Sawgrass this weekend.
At BetMGM Sportsbook, Morikawa had the highest handle and the second-most bets, outpacing even the favorite Scottie Scheffler on the former.
He was also the most-bet golfer to be the first round leader, finish in the top-five, and finish in the top-10.
Morikawa drew so much action that he moved from +2200 to +1600, which was tied with Rory McIlroy for the second-best odds behind Scheffler, to win the tournament before the field teed off on Thursday.
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Heading into the week, Morikawa had been playing some of the best golf of his career.
He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am a month ago and finished top-10 at both The Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational in his last two starts.
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Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He’s particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.