Justin Rose withdraws from The Players Championship

Justin Rose of England withdrew from The Players Championship mere hours before his scheduled tee time on Thursday.

Rose had been slated to begin play at 1:11 p.m. ET alongside Robert Streb and Australia’s Marc Leishman at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

United States Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker will fly in to replace Rose, who cited “personal medical reasons” for his withdrawal. A back injury was cited for his reason to withdraw from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

Rose, 40, hit three shots into the water while carding a quintuple-bogey 9 on the par-4 third hole at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. After his fourth shot on the par-5 No. 4, Rose called it a day.

“Disappointing to have to WD,” Rose told reporters. “… Just kind of woke up with a bit in a sort of spasmed lower back today and tried to kind of get through it. My warm-up was hard work, and I just couldn’t stay down in a shot. I missed basically every golf shot left to start the day.

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“… I just felt like it was a prudent call, just to call it at that point.”

Rose has 10 career PGA Tour victories, topped by winning the 2013 U.S. Open.

Stricker, 54, tied for fourth place last month at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.