AUSTIN, Texas – Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play prior to the start of his third-round match with a neck injury and conceded his match to Max Homa, who became the first player to advance to the knockout rounds.

Matsuyama defeated Kevin Kisner on Day 1, 1 up, and lost his second-round bout to Justin Suh, 3 and 1. He needed to beat Homa on Friday to force a playoff to advance.

“I experienced some stiffness in my neck this morning while warming up on the range, preventing me from making a full swing. As a precautionary measure, I decided to concede my match to Max and rest before moving on to the Valero Texas Open next week,” Matsuyama said in a statement.

Homa also responded on Twitter: “Just another bogey-free day,” he joked before adding, “This isn’t the way I wanted to make it through. I hope Hideki feels better soon. Golf is better when he’s playing well.”

The Japanese star’s withdrawal also impacted Suh’s Sweet 16 chances. Suh needed Matsuyama to defeat Homa and he needed to beat Kisner, who is 0-2-0 in the group, to have any chance of advancing to the weekend.

Matsuyama began the WGC-Match Play with momentum following his fifth-place showing at The Players Championship which was his best finish this season.