Hideki Matsuyama FORCED OUT of FedEx Cup Playoffs opener

Hideki Matsuyama has withdrawn from this week's FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis, the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, following a neck injury. 

Matsuyama has been plagued by injury this season and has been forced out of a number of tournaments on the PGA Tour as a result. 

Despite withdrawing from this week's tournament, however, Matsuyama is safely through to next week's 70-man tournament at the BMW Championship if he can get back to full fitness as he currently ranks 11th on the FedEx Cup standings. 

Matsuyama has been heavily linked with a huge $400 million move to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, but speculation has died down in recent weeks following the news that Open champion Cameron Smith has already signed a $100 million-plus deal to join the Saudi-backed golf league. 

Smith was pressed on the report that was published in the Telegraph yesterday, and he hit back with "no comment", which would appear to have all-but confirmed his intentions to leave the PGA Tour. 

It is understood that Smith will be revealed as the next LIV Golf player after the Playoffs, and he will compete in the next LIV tournament in Boston in early September. 

GolfMagic has predicted the 48 players we think might be teeing it up on the LIV Golf League next season. 

Matsuyama has won twice on the PGA Tour this season and he sits 16th in the Official World Golf Rankings, which are about to undergo a new structure moving forwards. 

He  joins Tommy Fleetwood, Lanto Griffin, Nate Lashley and Daniel Berger as the fifth player to withdraw from this week's tournament. 

Rickie Fowler squeezed into the field after making it in on the number at 125. 

He then confirmed this week that he has split with his long-time caddie. 

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