Last week was Cam, this week is Sam.
Sam Burns released a statement Monday morning announcing his withdrawal from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship.
“I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play,” Burns said. “After three long weeks of golf, I feel that taking this week to rest and prepare for the busy stretch ahead is best. I appreciate the support and look forward to seeing everyone soon.”
Match-play brackets will be released on Monday, and without Burns and Players champion Cameron Smith, two of the top 10 players in the world. World No. 8 Rory McIlroy, No. 12 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 22 Harris English and No. 47 Phil Mickelson will also be skipping this week’s event.
Maverick McNealy, who is attempting to climb inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf ranking after this week in order to receive a Masters invite, will replace Burns in the field. McNealy was prepared to travel to the Dominican Republic Wednesday to play the Corales Puntacana Championship if he didn’t get in to the field in Austin, but will get to stay in Texas with an outside chance to play well and make it to Augusta.