Injured Day pulls out of Australian summer events

The new golf season has barely begun and already things look ominous for Aussie superstar Jason Day.

The former US PGA champion has withdrawn from this week’s Australian Open along with the Presidents Cup next week, with 28-year-old South Korean Byeong Hun An named as his replacement in Melbourne.

Jason Day (Credit: USGA)

And while Day will be sorely missed and would have drawn a big crowd to watch him compete, his back problems are a far bigger concern for the Queenslander.

The 32-year-old has a history of back problems and they have continued to plague him throughout his career.

“I’m disappointed I won’t be coming home to play either the Australian Open in Sydney or the Presidents Cup the following week in Melbourne,” said Day.

“I was looking forward to both events.”

“I had been prepping all week in Palm Springs when I was injured.”

“Frustratingly, I’ve been through back problems before and my medical team decided it best to shut down all practice and play.”

“Therefore, I wanted to inform Golf Australia as well as provide Ernie [Els] as much time as possible to best prepare our International Team for Royal Melbourne.”

“I look forward to playing at home in the near future and send my best to all the competitors in Sydney and my teammates in Melbourne.”

According to the US PGA Tour, Day is not expected to resume competition until late January where he may contest the Farmers Insurance Open from January 23-26, where he is a two-time champion.

Internationals President Cup captain Els quickly named An as Day’s replacement.

“We wish Jason well and hope his back recovers quickly,” said Els.

“We were eager to have Jason as part of the team at Royal Melbourne and his experience will be missed.”

“The good news is that there were a number of strong and qualified players available to choose from when I made my captain’s selections.”

“To have someone as steady and talented as An puts us in a great position to succeed.”