The 2017 PGA champion will not have a chance to win the 2019 PGA Championship.
Justin Thomas, winner two years ago at Quail Hollow, withdrew from the tournament on Monday, thanks to effects from what has been diagnosed as a bone bruise in his right wrist.
The bone bruise was thought to have occurred in the Honda Classic when he intentionally struck a tree on his follow-through. He felt he aggravated it during the final round of the Masters, though he said it wasn’t on any particular shot.
“I’ve seen too many people come back too early,” Thomas said from his home in Jupiter, Florida. “I plan on doing this successfully for a long time, and I don’t want a dumb decision to set me back.”
Thomas tied for 12th at the Masters, where he made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole in the final round. He had not hit balls since then and withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago to give his wrist every chance to heal.
He started hitting 50 balls a day over the weekend and was up to a 5-iron by Sunday. His plan was to try to hit drivers on Monday, play a full 18 holes at home on Tuesday and then fly up to Bethpage on Wednesday.
Without a practice round at Bethpage, things would have been difficult at best for Thomas, who is ranked fifth in the world.
He has been replaced in the field by Kelly Kraft.
