It’s the first week of April, which means that for a certain subset of the sporting world, it might as well be Christmas morning.
It’s Masters week, and in a few days, one of the greatest and most prestigious golf tournaments in the world will get underway at Augusta Country Club in Augusta, Georgia. In one of the most popular weeks of golf across the calendar year, all eyes will be tuned in to see who add a green jacket to their closet.
Unfortunately for golf fans in the Pacific Northwest, notable Oregon Ducks alumni Aaron Wise will not be participating. Wise qualified for the first major of the year but announced over the weekend that he would be withdrawing in order to focus on his mental health, noting that the game of golf had become “a struggle” for him recently.
🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING 🚨🚨🚨
Aaron has WITHDRAWN from the 2023 Masters Tournament.
Shocking news. Aaron says the “mental piece” of the game has been “a struggle” for him recently. Appears like he’ll be taking a significant amount of time away from the game. pic.twitter.com/ucVzlj0QhO
— AARON WISE TRACKER (@WiseGuyTracker) March 31, 2023
Wise currently ranks 45th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), and he has four top-25 finishes on tour this season. However, Wise has missed the cut in four of the last six events that he’s played while failing to crack the top-25 in the two events where he did make the cut.
“I need to take some time away to focus on my mental health so I can get back to competing at a level I’m proud of,” Wise wrote on Instagram.
Wise has not played the Masters since his only trip in 2019, when he qualified by winning the AT&T Byron Nelson the year before. Wise finished 17th in 2019, shooting 281 (-7).
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