India, March 18 -- Collin Morikawa took one practice swing on his second hole of the opening round of the Players Championship last week, and he immediately knew his participation in the tournament was over. The in-form American, one of the favourites going into the tournament, hobbled away, holding his back.

Almost a similar scenario played out with Rory McIlroy the week before at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The world No2 played two rounds at Bay Hill and then needed to withdraw because of spasms in his back.

Of course, we have the example of Tiger Woods. The 15-time major champion has undergone more than 20 surgeries and procedures on his body. He has had seven procedures on his back, including microdiscectomies, fusions, and the ...