Justin Rose withdrew from The Open with a back injury and was replaced by Japanese Rikuya Hoshino before his 8:14am start time.
Rose had ended Wednesday’s practice round early, leading to speculation that he may have run into a problem and failed to arrive on the first tee at his scheduled time.
So 26-year-old Hoshino joined the Ryder Cup dream team of Tommy Fleetwood and 2018 champion Francesco Molinari as a late replacement.
The first reserve was Alex Noren, but he chose to go to the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship in California, which starts later on Thursday.
“On the fourth hole yesterday during my practice round, I made a swing with my driver and started having lower back pain,” Rose wrote on Twitter.
“I’m being treated around the clock, but it just doesn’t feel ready to compete in this prestigious championship.”
More to follow…
