Bryson DeChambeau pulls out of Arnold Palmer Invitational with hand injury

March 1 (UPI) -- Bryson DeChambeau, the No. 12 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, won't play in the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational due to his lingering hand injury, he announced.

DeChambeau, the defending champion, announced his withdrawal Monday on social media. The four-round tournament runs from Thursday through Sunday at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla.

DeChambeau said he was hitting balls in a golf simulator when he realized he didn't have enough time to be 100% healthy for the tournament.

"Right now I'm at 90%," DeChambeau said in videos posted to Instagram and Twitter. "I don't want to go out there and hurt myself even more and not be 100% ready for the rest of the season.

"I don't want to come back early and have to take more time off. So it's a hard decision I have to make, but I'm going to have to unfortunately not play this week."

World No. 1 Jon Rahm, No. 5 Rory McIlroy, No. 6 Scottie Scheffler, No. 4 Viktor Hovland and No. 11 Hideki Matsuyama are among the favorites to win this weekend.

The tournament airs on Golf Channel and NBC.

DeChambeau edged Lee Westwood by one stroke to win last March at Bay Hill. He followed his 12th career PGA Tour win with a third-place finish the next week at The Players Championship. He went on to finish second in the BMW Championship in August in Owings, Md. DeChambeau finished seventh at the Tour Championship in September in Atlanta.

He helped the Americans win the Ryder Cup three weeks later in Sheboygan, Wis. DeChambeau appeared in just two PGA Tour events so far this season. He withdrew from the second round of the Saudi Invitational in early February due to left hand and hip issues. He said he sustained the injuries in a fall.

"At this current point in time, I have to take another week off," DeChambeau said. "I'm going to try to get back and play for The Players. As of right now, I can't risk it and have it re-aggravate. This is one of the hardest points in my life because I'm not able to do much. Although I can hit some golf balls, it's not fully comfortable. I want to get back there as soon as possible, it's just not ready yet."

The Players Championship runs from March 10-13 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The tournament's $20 million in total prize money represents the largest purse on the PGA Tour, outside of the FedExCup Playoffs.

The 2022 Masters Tournament is the next major on the schedule. That tournament runs from April 7-10 in Augusta, Ga.