What happened to Hideki Matsuyama? Corey Conners to replace golfer at the Hero World Challenge 

Former champion Hideki Matsuyama has pulled out of the Hero World Challenge. The Japanese golfer announced his withdrawal from the Tiger Woods-hosted event with only days to go. According to tournament officials, Matsuyama opted out due to an injury.

Matsuyama, who is the only Japanese professional golfer to win the Masters Tournament, won the Hero World Challenge in 2016. However, the golfer has now informed he will be staying out of the event this year due to his continued injury woes. Meanwhile, Canadian Corey Conners is set to replace him on the 20-man field.

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Hideki Matsuyama's injury woes continue

Most recently, Hideki Matsuyama pulled out of the Houston Open citing a neck injury. However, this wasn’t the first time the former Masters winner has stepped back from a tournament due to injuries. The golfer has suffered multiple injuries over the past few months and it has taken a toll on his performance.

Notably, he pulled out of The Players Championship in March with a back injury. He also stayed out of the Texas Open a week before his Masters title defence. In addition, the 30-year-old had pulled out of the 3M Open in July due to wrist soreness and the FedExCup playoffs in August due to a neck injury.

With continued injuries, Matsuyama has now revealed that he won’t be recovering in time to play at the Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas. The World No.19 will stay out for yet another event and will be replaced by Canadian Corey Conners.

Coming in as a substitute, Corey Conners will become the first Canadian player to compete in the Hero World Challenge. Conners, who currently sits at No. 33 in the Official World Golf Rankings, recorded his first and only victory on the PGA Tour in 2019 at the Valero Texas Open.

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2022 Hero World Challenge field

The 2022 Hero World Challenge will feature a loaded field. Host Tiger Woods will headline the limited field along with the likes of defending champion Victor Hovland and nine other major winners. The event, held in the Bahamas by Woods’ TGR Foundation and others like the Tavistock Foundation and the Bahamas Youth Foundation, will see eight of the top 11 players in the world.

Golfers including the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Tom Kim, and Justin Thomas, will play for a prize purse of $3.5 million. It goes without saying that Corey Conners will have to bring forth his A-game if he wishes to make use of the big opportunity he got.

Here is the complete field for the Hero World Challenge:

• Tiger Woods
• Jordan Spieth
• Scottie Scheffler
• Billy Horschel
• Xander Schauffele
• Jon Rahm
• Cameron Young
• Justin Thomas
• Sungjae Im
• Collin Morikawa
• Max Homa
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Tom Kim
• Viktor Hovland
• Shane Lowry
• Sam Burns
• Tony Finau
• Kevin Kisner
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Corey Conners

Tiger Woods will be the main attraction of the event as he returns to a golf field after a break. The golfer, rehabbing from his horrific car crash in 2021, stands a chance to move up 1,000 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings. He currently sits at a career-low No. 1,266.