Jake Knapp Memorial Tournament Withdrawal Ends 2026 Run at Muirfield Village
Jake Knapp Memorial Tournament Withdrawal became real on Tuesday afternoon when the 32-year-old pulled out of the 2026 Memorial Tournament because of a wrist injury. The move removes one PGA Tour winner from Jack Nicklaus’ signature event at Muirfield Village and gives Sudarshan Yellamaraju a spot in the 72-player field.
Knapp exits Muirfield Village
Knapp’s withdrawal came from the same left wrist issue that first flared up at the end of April. He had not played since the RBC Heritage in late April, and this was not his first missed week from the injury. He also pulled out of back-to-back signature events, the Truist Championship and the Cadillac Championship, along with the PGA Championship in Pennsylvania.
The timing matters because the Memorial is one of the season’s biggest stops. Scottie Scheffler headlines the 72-player field this week, and Knapp had been part of the group before the wrist forced another exit.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju steps in
Yellamaraju takes the open place, and this is his fourth appearance in a $20m event this season. That kind of access has become part of the week’s story, because the Memorial field has already shifted once before with other names moving out.
Viktor Hovland also pulled out of the penultimate signature event of the season, while Collin Morikawa is skipping the tournament in Ohio as he recovers from a back injury. Those absences leave the field shorter on proven winners, but they also clear room for players like Yellamaraju to get another start at this level.
Knapp’s recent form
Knapp’s withdrawal lands after a stretch that showed both sides of his season. He won his only PGA Tour title at the Mexican Open in February 2024, shot a 59 in the first round of the Cognizant Classic last February, and opened the year with four top-10 finishes in five starts.
He also tied for 11th at the Masters at Augusta National, then missed the cut at the 2026 Players. Rory McIlroy’s line after playing with him at PGA National still fits the profile Knapp had built before the wrist problems took over: “Knapp could be a superstar.”
For the Memorial, the immediate change is simple. Knapp is out, Yellamaraju is in, and a signature event in Ohio has lost another established name before the first shot.
