Past champion withdraws from 2026 British Open due to back injury

[ASFN Admin]

Louis Oosthuizen has withdrawn from the 2026 Open Championship due to a back injury.

The 2010 champion at St. Andrews announced Monday on social media that he was pulling out of the Open at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, and next week's LIV event in the UK.

"It's incredibly disappointing to miss two events I always look forward to, but my priority now is to focus on my recovery and make sure I'm fully fit before returning to competition," Oosthuizen posted on social media.

Not the update I was hoping to share.

Unfortunately, due to a back injury, I've had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from both The Open Championship and LIV Golf's JCB event.

It's incredibly disappointing to miss two events I always look forward to, but my priority… pic.twitter.com/Pbrv7IwyGr

— Louis Oosthuizen (@Louis57TM) July 13, 2026

Aldrich Potgieter, who played in the Last-Chance Qualifier on Monday morning at Royal Birkdale, is the first alternate and will replace Oosthuizen.

Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Past champion withdraws from 2026 British Open due to back injury

Continue reading...