Collin Morikawa, Contending at the Memorial, Withdraws Prior to Final Round

He was two shots behind the leaders with a chance to win for the first time this season.

DUBLIN, Ohio — Collin Morikawa withdrew prior to his tee time on Sunday at the Memorial Tournament due to back spasms.

The two-time major championship winner was set to tee off with Keegan Bradley and was just two shots behind leaders Rory McIlroy, Si Woo Kim and David Lipsky when he notified Bradley on the range that he would not be able to proceed.

Morikawa, ranked 18th in the world, shot a third-round 68 on Saturday at Muirfield Village Golf Club to give himself a shot at winning his first tournament of the year.

“Give me three days and I think I'll be back,” Morikawa told Sports Illustrated while walking to the physio room. “It's not like it's something in my bones or something terrible, it's just a spasm.”

While doing his pre-round stretching, which included reflex testing, Morikawa said he went too far down too fast and felt it.

He knew he couldn’t go when he tried to hit 10 balls. The first was a nice pitch with a wedge of 50 yards, the second was a full chunk, the third went 90 yards with a 9-iron and he knew at that point a round at Muirfield Village was not in his immediate future.

"It just sucks because I put together three interesting rounds to say the least," Morikawa said. "But it was a grind and that's what I was really proud of myself and obviously gave myself a chance, but it is what it is.”

This year, Morikawa has four top-10 finishes including a tie for 10th at the Masters. His status for the U.S. Open in two weeks is unclear.