Why Collin Morikawa has made the best move possible before the PGA Championship

Collin Morikawa has decided not to take his place in the field for the Truist Championship this week after weeks of dealing with a back injury.

It has been a turbulent season for Morikawa. He won on American soil for the first time in nearly five years when he triumphed at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

He has registered five top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour this year. However, his season may well be defined by what happened after he took a practice swing on his second hole of The Players Championship.

Collin Morikawa withdraws from the Truist Championship

Morikawa withdrew at TPC Sawgrass after needing medical attention. And while he did return at The Masters and his results largely remained impressive, the 29-year-old has decided to skip the Truist Championship.

Obviously, it is not clear how concerned we should be about Morikawa’s decision. He has not looked at all comfortable since returning from injury.

It is probably fair to assume that he would have delayed his comeback even longer had it not meant missing The Masters.

However, there is a definite upside for Morikawa ahead of the PGA Championship this month.

The Masters leaderboard may show exactly why Collin Morikawa was right to rest before the PGA Championship

To say this part of the PGA Tour schedule is hectic would be an understatement. We are approaching the final stages of a six-week run that involves five tournaments that are either signature events or majors.

It is no surprise that Scottie Scheffler is taking this week off. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has not played in a tournament since winning The Masters.

The pair took time off before the first major of the year for different reasons. And it did not hurt either, with McIlroy winning and Scheffler finishing second.

In fact, not one player inside the top 20 at Augusta National played in both the Texas Children’s Houston Open and the Valero Texas Open in the two weeks before The Masters.

So while some players may be looking to gain as much momentum as possible for Aronimink, it looks to be much more beneficial to take some time off in this run.

If Morikawa has decided to not play at Quail Hollow as a precaution, it could be an inspired move as he looks to win his third major title.