Si Woo Kim withdrew from the American Express on Thursday after a first-round 87 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Kim, the 2017 Players champion who has fought back issues in the past, carded a quadruple bogey, three triples, a double, a bogey and a birdie in a round of 15 over par, the highest of his PGA Tour career.
He was in last place, 11 shots behind the next player, Martin Trainer, when he withdrew.
Kim was making his first start of 2020 after missing the cuts in his last two starts of the fall, at Mayakoba and Sea Island.