Still recovering from minor hand surgery after a Christmas cooking accident, Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in men’s professional golf, has announced on social media that he will not play in The American Express PGA Tour event in La Quinta next week.

World No. 2 Xander Schauffele has withdrawn from this week’s tournament in the California desert for an undisclosed reason.

Three weeks into the season and the Masters can’t get here soon enough. Scheffler and Schauffele surely will be back by then.

A new season in any sport is ripe with optimism and enthusiasm, and that’s how PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sounded when he delivered a year-end video message that promised innovation and excitement.