Mickelson to sit out The Players; DeChambeau in field

Phil Mickelson has officially ruled himself out of a return to action at The Players, while Bryson DeChambeau has been included in the provisional field for TPC Sawgrass.

Mickelson is currently taking a break from competitive golf, following the fall-out from his claims that the PGA Tour acts like a "dictatorship" and that he was using the threat of a breakaway Saudi Golf League to "reshape" how the Tour operates.

The six-time major winner is yet to set a return date to action and was a notable absentee from the 144-man entry list for next week's event, where 48 of the world's top 50 are set to tee it up.

Harris English is the other player from the world's top 50 definitely not involved, with the American still recovering from a hip injury that has ruled him out of PGA Tour action since a tied-55th finish in January's Sony Open.

Ryder Cup-winning captain Steve Stricker also misses out through injury and Tiger Woods continues his rehabilitation from last February's car crash, meaning the PGA Tour's flagship event will take place without Woods and Mickelson for the first time since 1994.

Justin Thomas returns to defend his title after last year's one-shot victory over Lee Westwood, bidding to become the first player to claim back-to-back Players Championship wins, with 2019 champion Rory McIlroy and world No 1 Jon Rahm among the notable names in the field.

DeChambeau is currently scheduled to make a return to action, a week on from missing his title defence at the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a left wrist problem, with the former US Open champion limited to just three worldwide starts so far in an injury-plagued 2022.

He revealed in a social media post that he would "try and get back and play for The Players",