Hideki Matsuyama withdraws with back injury as Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim chase leader Adam Scott at BMW Championship

Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the second round of the BMW Championship on Friday with a lower back injury as Korean duo Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim remained in the top-10 of the leaderboard in the penultimate tournament of the 2024 FedExCup Playoffs.

Matsuyama, who won the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, had opened his campaign at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado with a 67 on Thursday before being forced to pull out of the $20 million showpiece, which is limited to the top-50 players.

“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from the BMW Championship after experiencing lower back discomfort while warming up this morning, which made it impossible to play. Thank you to BMW and the Western Golf Association for a great experience here at Castle Pines,” said Matsuyama.

Last season, the 10-time PGA TOUR winner also pulled out before the start of the second round in the same tournament which snapped a nine-year streak of qualifying for the TOUR Championship. While he will make a welcome return to East Lake for the Playoffs Finale next week as he is presently ranked third on the FedExCup points list, Matsuyama will be racing to get fully fit again.

Australia’s Adam Scott fired a blistering 63 on the site where he made his PGA TOUR debut some 24 years ago to open up a three-shot lead over first round leader Keegan Bradley (68) with his 13-under total. Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg also shot a 63 for solo third, four off the pace.

Korea’s Im carded a 70 for a 6-under total in tied sixth position following a round that featured six birdies against four bogeys. Hitting 13 greens in regulation, the two-time PGA TOUR. winner made several long birdie putts from 17 feet, 33 feet and 27 feet on the second, third and ninth holes respectively. He is projected to remain in 10th position on the FedExCup points list as he prepares to make his sixth straight appearance in the TOUR Championship, which is limited to the top-30 players.

“It was a challenging day but I fought hard and holed quite a few long birdie putts which was nice and made some birdies late in my round,” said Im, whose best finish in the FedExCup was T2 in 2022. “I'm in a good position and will need to play well to catch Adam. It'll be important to stick to my game plan and try to keep the bogeys off my card over the weekend.”

A second-round 70 will see Kim enter the weekend tied for eighth place and in need to climb higher on the leaderboard in his chase for a berth in East Lake. He hit four birdies against two dropped and is projected to move to 35thposition, five rungs outside of the TOUR Championship.

Another Korean Byeong Hun An shot a 69 for a share of 15th position, highlighted by an eagle on the 17th hole from 15 feet. He is projected to remain 15th on the FedExCup points list to qualify for his first ever TOUR Championship appearance.