Narin An made four straight birdies around the turn and finished with an 8-under 64 Thursday for a one-shot lead in the CME Group Tour Championship.
Sources: DeChambeau skips TPC, still ‘not ready’
For the second straight PGA Tour event, Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn after entering the field, and he won’t play in this week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
DeChambeau had entered the field for the event that is widely referred to as the “fifth major” and had its purse balloon to $20 million this year, including $3.6 million to the winner.
A source told ESPN that DeChambeau is “still not ready to compete,” which is why he won’t play at the Stadium Course in the PGA Tour’s premier event. He also missed this past week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, an event he won last year, after withdrawing from the field on Monday.
DeChambeau withdrew from the second round of the Saudi International in February because of left hand and left hip injuries after shooting 3-over 73 in the first round. He later said he was hurt in a fall earlier that week.
DeChambeau hasn’t played since missing the cut at last month’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He has competed in just two PGA Tour events this season.
DeChambeau, who won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, was one of the most high-profile players connected to the proposed Saudi Arabian-financed breakaway league. Phil Mickelson, another player who has heavily criticized the PGA Tour and said he was using the potential new circuit as leverage, also isn’t in the field for the Players Championship.