According to Ryan Lavner of The Golf Channel on Monday, 2020 United States Open champion and world number 12 Bryson DeChambeau of Modesto, California has pulled out of the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational because of injuries to his hip and hand.
It has been abysmal season so far for DeChambeau, who has been dealing with various ailments since the beginning of the 2022 calendar year. At the beginning of January, DeChambeau was 25th out of 38 golfers at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. That was followed by a missed cut at the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open, an inability to participate at the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii due to a wrist injury according to Anjana Prabhakaran of Essentially Sports, a missed cut at the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, and a withdrawal from the Saudi International.
In 2021, DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one stroke over Lee Westwood of England. DeChambeau received worldwide fame from the tournament because of his monster tee shots on the sixth hole. This is the second time this season the defending champion has been forced to withdraw from a notable PGA Tour event. In February, Daniel Berger of Plantation, Florida withdrew from Pebble Beach because of a back injury.
When it comes to the sixth hole at Bay Hill (home course of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando), it is interesting that the hole rewards strength and power. That is because Palmer once said in a famous quote, “success in this game depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character.”
