Matthew Wolff’s strange season continues with WD from PGA Championship

The young PGA Tour star has battled a hand injury and has had several withdrawals and other lackluster performances.

A strange season continued for Matthew Wolff.

The former collegiate standout and NCAA champion, who won the 2019 3M Open in just his third professional start, withdrew Tuesday night from next week’s PGA Championship on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.

No reason was given for the WD.

Tom Hoge replaced Wolff in the field.

Wolff, 22, has been dealing with a nagging right hand injury and has often looked disgruntled on the course this year. After opening with a 78 in the Farmers Insurance Open in January, he withdrew because of the injury. He also withdrew from the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession in February after posting an 83 in the first round.

In last month’s Masters, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

In his most recent start, he and Collin Morikawa teamed up and missed the cut in the Zurich Classic the third week of April.

Wolff has not finished in the top 10 in his most recent 10 starts and has fallen from a career-high rank of 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking to 27th.

No one in golf expected this plunge from Wolff.

It was just six months ago that he led by two shots heading into the final round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. A final-round 75 had him finishing runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau, who won by six shots. In his next start, he tied for second in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. And in his debut in the PGA Championship in August, he tied for fourth.