Kim WDs from PLAYERS with thumb injury

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Anthony Kim, who has been battling an injury to his left thumb since 2009, withdrew from THE PLAYERS Championship on Tuesday.

"This injury has been well documented over the past month, and I've been doing everything I can to play through it, but it became more of an issue last week and needs to be looked at," Kim said. "I'm extremely disappointed to have to miss THE PLAYERS Championship, but will consult with my doctors this week and follow their recommendations for treatment."

While playing through the injury, Kim has strung together an impressive record over the past month, earning a win at the Shell Houston Open followed by a third-place finish at the Masters and a sixth-place finish at last week's Quail Hollow Championship. The victory was the third of the 25-year-old's career.

Kim, who played with eventual champion Rory McIlroy on Sunday at Quail Hollow, had said last week that he would likely need surgery to reattach the ligament between his index finger and left thumb sometime this year. The rehabilitation could take two or three months.

Complicating the decision on the timing of the surgery are THE PLAYERS and the remaining three majors, as well as the Ryder Cup, which is Kim's primary goal for the season. If he does need surgery, Kim, who ranks second on the Ryder Cup points list, wants to allow enough time for rehabilitation so that he is fully recovered for the matches at Celtic Manor in Wales in September.

Kim, who is ranked 11th in the world, is the second player to withdraw from THE PLAYERS this week. Third-ranked Steve Stricker withdrew on Monday with a sore right shoulder.

Chad Collins replaces Kim while Spencer Levin got in when Stricker withdrew. Troy Merritt is now the first alternate.