Australia’s world No.2 golfer Cameron Smith has been forced to withdrew from this week’s BMW Championship at Wilmington, Delaware, with a hip injury.

The Open Championship winner tied for 13th after carding an even-par 70 in Sunday’s final round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, the first of the PGA Tour’s three playoff events.

“He has been dealing with some on and off hip discomfort for several months, and thought it best to rest this week in pursuit of the FedEx Cup,” Smith’s agent, Bud Martin, said.

Smith later told Golf Digest: “My hip flared up yesterday. It seems to happen when there’s softer fairways like there were earlier in the week.

“I’ve had a couple of MRIs around it, and I will check with my team to see if we need another one.”

Smith will easily qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta despite not playing in the second playoff event as he ranks third in the FedEx Cup race.

The top 30 qualify for next week, with the current 70-strong remaining field led by St. Jude winner Will Zalatoris and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler

However, he is likely to fall several spots in the standings due to this week’s absence, which will affect his chances of winning the overall tournament.

The leader after Wilmington starts next week at 10-under-par. Second third, fourth and fifth starts at 8-, 7-, 6- and 5-under respectively. The remaining players lose a shot each block of five (6th-10th start at 4-under; 11th-15th begin at 3-under, etc).

Smith, 28, is reportedly considering leaving the PGA Tour at the end of the season to sign with the Saudi-backed rebel LIV Golf series

With AP