Casey hasn't featured competitively since March due to lingering back issues, having also missed The Masters last month; Watch the PGA Championship at Southern Hills live on Thursday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf
Sunday 15 May 2022 20:53, UK
England's Paul Casey has withdrawn from the PGA Championship due to a back injury, with Scotland's Russell Knox replacing him in the field at Southern Hills.
Casey, who finished tied-second behind Collin Morikawa in 2020 and claimed a share of fourth in Phil Mickelson's historic victory last year, has only previously missed the event once since making his PGA Championship debut in 2002.
The world No 24 has been limited to just seven worldwide starts so far this campaign because of the back issue, with Casey unable to tee it up since only managing two holes of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March.
Casey withdrew from his opening group match that week due to back spasms and then missed his remaining two round-robin matches, with the 44-year-old also unable to feature at The Masters last month.
The five-time Ryder Cup player's withdrawal - who was also a late withdrawal for the Wells Fargo Championship last week - gives Knox a major return for the first time since 2019, while Sungjae Im was also forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19 in his native South Korea.
Im had returned home to play in the Korean Tour's Woori Financial Group Championship but tested positive hours before the opening round and withdrew from the event, according to local news reports. Scott Stallings replaces the Korean in the field, with Joel Dahmen the next alternate should there be any further withdrawals.
Some 96 of the world's top 100 are currently scheduled to tee it up in Oklahoma for the second men's major of the year, live on Sky Sports Golf from Thursday, with Harris English and Mickelson the only others to miss out.
English withdrew as he continues to recover from hip surgery, having last played on the PGA Tour in January, while Mickelson decided not to defend his title as he continues his sabbatical from golf.
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the PGA Championship, with over 40 hours of live coverage from the four tournament days and a host of extra tournament programming throughout the week. Coverage begins from 1pm over the first two days and 2pm over the weekend.
There will also be daily highlights on Sky Sports Golf, as well as official films from previous PGA Championships, while Sky Sports News offers live updates and in-round highlights as the tournament continues.
Who will lift the Wanamaker Trophy later this month? Watch the PGA Championship from May 19-22 live on Sky Sports Golf!
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