The 2020 US Open champ pulled out of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial overnight, as he’s still not ready for competition after hand surgery in April.
“I’m definitely close but don’t have the endurance for four full days yet. Getting there,” DeChambeau said in a message to Golfweek. “Taking a bit of time to make sure it’s fully healed.”
DeChambeau practised last week at Southern Hills before ultimately deciding to withdraw from the PGA Championship, so it was a bit of a surprise to see his name in the Friday evening PGA Tour release of the Colonial field. DeChambeau underwent a procedure on his hamate bone in his left hand after the Masters last month, a surgery originally expected to keep him sidelined until the US Open at Brookline.
Nevertheless, there’s a good chance DeChambeau will be in next week’s field at the Memorial, especially since he is a past champion at Muirfield Village.
Prior to surgery, DeChambeau revealed at Augusta National that he suffered a torn left hip labrum and a hairline fracture in his left hand. According to DeChambeau, the hip injury originally happened when he began his distance odyssey two years ago. Last northern autumn, he felt something “pop” in his hand after slipping on concrete. Both injuries were aggravated at the Saudi International during a ping-pong match against Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann.
It’s been a forgettable season for DeChambeau, beginning the year with a distant T-25 in the limited-field Sentry Tournament of Champions and missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. He was a mid-tournament withdrawal from the Saudi after the injury, and despite doctors advising him to rest his injuries for four months he came back in two in hopes of a Masters run. However, he missed the cuts in his Augusta National prep in appearances at the WGC–Dell Match Play and Valero Texas Open, and had a quick out at the Masters as well.
John Huh will take DeChambeau’s place in the field.