The Open 2022: is Justin Rose playing at golf tournament? Golfer withdraws - is he injured?

The English golfer Justin Rose has made a last minute withdrawal from the Open which is taking place this weekend at St Andrews.

The former world number one was due to take part in the 150th edition of the event but has had to pull out just ahead of the first round due to a back injury.

He has quickly been replaced by Rikuya Hoshino, a Japanese 26-year-old.

Rose is now the second player in the world’s top 50 to miss out on the historic tournament after the world number 26, Daniel Berger, was forced to sit out due to sustaining an injury of his own.

Rose, 41, suffered a back injury during a practice session on Wednesday, in the final session before the tournament kicked off, and many have now speculated that this injury has sustained, causing him to pull out of the event.

Rory McIlroy is currently the bookies’ favourite to win, despite not having won a major tournament since 2014.

McIlroy is set to be challenged by Xander Schauffele and Masters winner Scottie Scheffler for this year’s title in St Andrews.

What has Justin Rose said?

The PGA Tour communications took to Twitter to announce Rose’s decision. It said: “Justin Rose (back injury) has withdrawn from The Open Championship and will be replaced by Rikuya Hoshino.

“Aaron Rai is now the first alternate.”

Since this announcement, Rose has himself tweeted: “On the 4th hole yesterday during my practice round, I made a swing with my driver and started to feel pain in my lower back.

“I’ve been getting around the clock treatment but it just doesn’t feel ready to compete in this prestigious Championship.”

Who is Justin Rose?

This will mark the first time since 2006 that the 2016 Olympic Gold medallist will not be part of the field at The Open.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Rose turned professional in 1998 and has since earned himself 24 professional wins on the PGA and European Tour.

He reached number one in the world rankings back in September 2018 and was top of the world’s golfers for 13 weeks.

Rose has one major Championship win, the US Open, which he achieved back in 2013 and has come second at the Masters Tournament twice and Open Championship once.

He is one of only five golfers to win official tournaments on all six continents on which golf is played.

When is The Open 2022?

The Open got underway earlier this morning, Thursday 14 July 2022, and will conclude on Sunday 17 July.

Three-time Open winner Tiger Woods has returned to the field and will be competing in what could well be the final Open competition of his career.

It may also be the final time that all of the world’s best golfers are able to compete in the same competition, due to the controversies surrounding the LIV Golf invitational.

The Saudi-backed league has attracted many of the world’s finest players, but those who have joined the LIV league have since been banned from competing in the PGA Tour.

Sky Sports are showing all of the live coverage from St Andrews, while the BBC are offering daily highlight shows for those without Sky or unable to keep up with all of the action.