Golfer withdraws from Memorial because of mental anxiety over chipping

This is not something you see everyday, but Graham DeLaet bailed on Muirfield Village because of the yips

By Kyle Porter

Jun 2, 2016 at 4:54 pm ET • 1 min read

Graham DeLaet withdrew from the Memorial Tournament this week, but he did not cite a specific injury. That's because there wasn't a physical malady to be seen on the Canadian. What he noted is that he has the yips when it comes to chipping and pitching.

I'm dealing with incredible anxiety while chipping/pitching right now. It's not fun. I needed to WD to get it sorted out and get back ASAP.
— Graham DeLaet (@GrahamDeLaet) June 1, 2016

That's an unnerving thing for a golfer to admit publicly and one we don't see from too many guys too often. And the strange part is that it hasn't been affecting him too negatively of late. He has three top-15 finishes since March and has made nearly $1M so far this season.

However he is No. 188 in strokes gained around the green which is pretty awful. ESPN's Scott Van Pelt had a great soliloquy on DeLaet on Wednesday night in which he noted that not everyone loves to be watched out in public. Maybe DeLaet is one of those guys.

Either way, here's to hoping DeLaet can sort things out mentally soon and get back to playing golf.