PGA Tour pro facing Masters heartbreak after Houston Open injury withdrawal

Pierceson Coody’s hopes of playing in a first Masters look all over after a last-minute withdrawal ahead of the second round of the Texas Children's Houston Open.

The PGA Tour confirmed Coody pulled out just an hour before his second-round tee time on Friday, citing a back injury. 

It’s a cruel blow at the worst possible moment, with the 24-year-old sitting 51st in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) at the start of the week — one spot outside the crucial top 50 needed to qualify for golf's first major of the season at famed Augusta National from 9-12 April. 

The American needed a solid week in Houston in order to make The Masters, but instead he’s heading home.

Coody's WD marks yet another notable player withdrawing from a PGA Tour event as a result of back pain. 

Earlier this month, Rory McIlroy was forced out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational ahead of the third round, a week before Collin Morikawa walked out of The Players Championship after just one hole of the first round. 

Coody had opened with a level-par 70 at the Houston Open but never got the chance to build on it. 

His withdrawal leaves Sungjae Im and Ricky Castillo to go out as a two-ball on Friday. 

The timing couldn’t be more brutal.

With Monday’s Masters qualification deadline looming, Coody’s exit means he will almost certainly miss out on the top 50 — slamming the door on what would have been his Augusta debut. 

Coody's WD means it opens the door for a number of players on the cusp of the world's top 50, as you can see from the table below. 

The Masters is a tournament he had openly targeted, making this setback even harder to take.

There is technically still one last route in for him though. 

Win the Valero Texas Open next week and he’s in. Simple on paper — but far from it in reality. 

Not only would Coody need to recover quickly from a back injury, he’d also have to win a PGA Tour event under pressure. 

Right now, that looks like a long shot.

This one stings because Coody had been trending in the right direction.

A runner-up finish at the Farmers Insurance Open highlighted a strong start to the season, with five top-18 finishes in six events suggesting a breakthrough year was building. 

But recent form had dipped — missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, followed by a T55 at the Valspar — and now injury has delivered the biggest setback of all.

Coody has played just one major to date, missing the cut at the 2021 U.S. Open. 

Augusta was supposed to be next.

Now, barring something remarkable in Texas next week, it won’t be.