Justin Thomas (wrist) has withdrawn from 2019 PGA Championship

The 2017 tournament champion, Justin Thomas has withdrawn from the 2019 PGA Championship with a wrist injury.

The PGA Championship is coming this week, as the tour moves to May. The best golfers in the world are descending on U.S Open host Bethpage Black and Justin Thomas entered the week as one of the favorites. But the 2017 PGA champion has withdrawn from this year’s event due to a wrist injury.

Thomas withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow (coincidentally, where he won the 2017 PGA Championship) a couple weeks ago with the same injury. But there didn’t appear to be great concern at that point.

Thomas last played in The Masters, where he finished tied for 12th, and he started this season with four top-10 finishes in his first five events.

Thomas is currently the No. 5 golfer in the world. He’ll be the only one in the top 100 of the World Golf Rankings not in the field at Bethpage this week. He has some good history at Bethpage too, finishing tied for 10th in the 2016 Barclays.

Via Twitter, Thomas made the announcement of his withdrawal from the tournament.

"Unfortunately, I will be withdrawing from the 101st PGA Championship at Bethpage Black this week as my wrist is not yet fully healed,” “Obviously, as a past champion, this tournament is extra special to me. It consistently has the strongest field in golf and I’m disappointed to not be among those competing this year, but I’m optimistic about a return in the near future."

Following Thomas’ withdrawal on Monday, the PGA quickly announced Kelly Kraft from Dallas, Texas will take his place in the field.

Beyond a back or knee problem, a wrist injury might be the worst injury a golfer can have. So there has to be a lot of concern about Thomas’ status looking beyond this week, as one of the best young golfers in the world bows out of a major.