Paul Casey has withdrawn from the 2023 PGA Championship for the second consecutive year due to injury.
The Englishman follows fellow LIV Golfer Martin Kaymer in pulling out of the championship that gets underway on Thursday at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. It leaves 16 LIV players left in the field.
Another big name to withdraw this week was 1991 PGA Champion John Daly, who couldn’t tee it up due to his recent knee surgery.
No reasoning other than ‘injury’ was given for Casey’s withdrawal, although he missed a large part of last year due to back problems. He missed The Masters, PGA Championship and US Open last year with injury before joining LIV ahead of his first Major appearance of the season at the 150th Open.
He plays for Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC in the LIV Golf League, where his best finishes have been 3rd in Bangkok last year and 4th in Mayakoba in the 2023 season opener.
Casey was given a special exemption into the field this year after not meeting any of the official qualifying criteria. It is thought he was invited after missing last year’s championship, which he had qualified for via multiple routes including a T4th at the 2021 PGA Championship.
“Some LIV players were invited this year, some Japanese Tour, Australian Tour. Yeah, we look at all tours, all rankings, and all players’ abilities,” Chief Championships Officer of the PGA of America, Kerry Haigh, said earlier on Tuesday .
“Paul Casey, great player. He’s certainly had some injuries. Played on the Ryder Cup last played, and has played well in PGA Championships. Again, we review all those criteria for a number of players, and he was one of a number that were selected.”
World No.130 Sam Stevens, who was runner-up at the Valero Texas Open in April, has taken Casey’s spot in the field.