JMSO

Aaron Smart has withdrawn from this yr’s Masters, citing psychological well being considerations. 

Smart, the world’s Forty fifth-ranked participant, the 2018 PGA Tour rookie of the yr and the 2016 NCAA champion, posted the information to his Instagram story early Friday afternoon. 

“Regretfully I’m withdrawing from The Masters right this moment,” Smart wrote. “Golf is simply as a lot a psychological sport as it’s one in every of bodily talent, and the psychological piece of it has been a wrestle for me lately. I don’t take the importance of enjoying at Augusta evenly, however know that I have to take a while away to concentrate on my psychological well being so I can get again to competing at a degree I’m pleased with.”

Under that assertion, he added this on his Instagram story: 

“This hurts, however its [sic] wanted. See you all quickly [Peace sign emoji] [Heart emoji]”

Smart’s 2023 has been a wrestle, notably following a 2022 season during which he certified for his second Tour Championship and a fall the place he posted three top-25s in 4 occasions. Since then, Smart has performed seven occasions and missed 5 cuts, together with lacking the weekend finally week’s WGC-Match Play. 

Smart gained his first match in Austin 1-up over Tom Hoge on Wednesday, however misplaced his remaining two matches in group play to fall out of the occasion.

“Yeah, felt like I performed properly,” Smart stated after defeating Hoagie. “I putted wonderful, made plenty of putts and made a bunch of birdies and made a number of bogeys, and as match play goes, I made no birdies to win, so it labored out.”

Two weeks earlier, catastrophe struck on the Gamers Championship, although it nonetheless got here with a little bit of stable play. Throughout Thursday’s first spherical, he hit three-straight tee pictures into the water on the par-4 18th — carding a ten and narrowly avoiding the highest-ever rating on the opening. (Andres Stoltz posted an 11 in 2005.)

Smart’s Masters look would have been his second. After a win on the 2018 Bryson Nelson, he performed at Augusta Nationwide in 2019 and completed seventeenth, with rounds of 75, 71, 68 and 67. 

“It’s such a particular place,” Smart instructed the Masters web site in 2019. “There are nice reminiscences for all of us. All of us can bear in mind the nice moments and nice pictures — simply from having watched on TV.”

Golf Journal

Subscribe To The Journal

Subscribe

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Journal. In his function, he’s chargeable for enhancing, writing and creating tales throughout the golf area. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be enjoying the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and brief, and consuming a chilly beer to scrub away his rating. You’ll be able to attain out to him about any of those matters — his tales, his sport or his beers — at [email protected].