The world No 12 had already pulled out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week with hip and wrist issues.

Hayden Buckley will replace DeChambeau at The Players, the PGA confirmed.

DeChambeau's last appearance was in early February at the Saudi International where he withdrew after the first round.

He said last week when withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational: "I have a lot of work to do to get everything back into order for this week and I just feel like it's too shorter time for me to get back to 100 per cent and playing at 100 per cent capacity.

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• Thomas targets Players history at 'special' Sawgrass
• When is The Players live on Sky Sports? Key TV times

"Right now, I'm like 90 per cent. I don't want to go out there and hurt myself even more, and not be 100 per cent ready for the rest of the season. I don't want to come back early and then have to take more time off.

"Right now, I just can't risk going out there and having it reaggravate. This has been one of the hardest moments of my life."

DeChambeau has won eight times on the PGA Tour.

The Masters, which DeChambeau may target, begins on April 7.

DeChambeau's fitness woes

Thomas targets Players history at 'special' Sawgrass

Justin Thomas is relishing the opportunity to create PGA Tour history at The Players, a year on from storming to an impressive victory at TPC Sawgrass.

Thomas produced a brilliant display to overturn a seven-stroke deficit over the weekend and win the PGA Tour's flagship event last March, posting rounds of 64 and 68 to finish a shot clear of veteran Lee Westwood.

"I'm definitely hoping to change that!" Thomas told Sky Sports. "I think there's a lot of reasons why it's tough to defend. It's just really hard to win a golf tournament and it's obviously hard to win back-to-back at a place like this!

"I was fortunate enough to have a chance to win after a great round on Saturday. That was our first true event in a long time with a lot of fans. You could feel the energy and the atmosphere and I loved that, so that's obviously an amazing memory for me."

When is The Players live on Sky Sports? Key TV times

One of the highlights of the golfing calendar takes place this month at The Players, with round-the-clock coverage from TPC Sawgrass live on Sky Sports' dedicated channel.

The dedicated Players Championship channel, Sky Sports The Players, will have over 60 hours of live coverage from Florida during tournament week from March 7-13, including from before the opening tee shot during all four tournament rounds.

Key TV times

Tuesday March 8

Live from The Players - 1400-2200 on Sky Sports The Players

Wednesday March 9

Live from The Players - 1400-2200 on Sky Sports The Players

Tiger Woods in Hall of Fame ceremony - 2300-0130 on Sky Sports The Players

Thursday March 10

The Players: Day one LIVE! - 1130-2330 on Sky Sports The Players -

Friday March 11

The Players: Day two LIVE! - 1130-2330 on Sky Sports The Players -

Saturday March 12

The Players: Day three LIVE! - 1230-2330 on Sky Sports The Players

Sunday March 13

The Players: Day four LIVE! - 1130-2230 on Sky Sports The Players