Jason Day Withdrew from the Players Championship Over an Unspecified Illness

Just before the start of the first round of the Players Championship, Jason Day, a former winner of the tournament, announced that he wouldn't be able to compete. The news that Jason was dropping out was a surprise to many.

Jason's explanation didn't offer much detail, so if you're wondering why he left the tournament so shortly before it was going to begin, we've got you covered.

Jason, who won the championship in 2016, withdrew from the tournament over an illness. His statement didn't include any explanation as to what kind of illness he was dealing with, but it was apparently severe enough to keep him from competing. We also know that he tied for eighth place at a recent tournament in Bay Hill, suggesting that whatever the illness was, it wasn't something he has been dealing with for a while.

In the past, Jason has dealt with severe vertigo, and those bouts of vertigo have even impacted him in the middle of tournaments. During the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, Jason collapsed on the second hole after dealing with vertigo.

We don't know whether that's what he's dealing with now, or whether he's suffering from some unrelated ailment.

Jason's last-minute withdrawal is just the latest chapter in a career that was marked by an incredible peak in 2015. That year, Jason won five events including a PGA Championship and a major, and he ascended all the way to No. 1 in the world. In the years since, Jason's play has been much more erratic, and he ultimately fell out of the top 100 players.

2023 was a bounce back year for him, and he returned to the top 20 rankings after a victory at AT&T Byron Nelson.

At 37, Jason has plenty of runway left in his career, and there are certainly plenty of fans who are hoping that whatever illness he's dealing with is one he can get over in relatively short order so that he can return and continue playing this season.

For the Players Championship, Jason was replaced by Danny Walker, who is currently ranked 125th in the world and has appeared in five PGA Tour events over the course of his career. He's certainly not as high-profile of a player as Jason, but he will make for a full field as competition commences.

We don't know for sure whether we'll get any additional details on Jason's illness. Hopefully, it's nothing too serious, and it was something he was simply hoping would get better that ultimately didn't. If he continues to miss more tournaments in the weeks ahead, we'll know that it's something serious. It could be as simple as a cold that he knew would keep him from performing at his best.