Golf: Koepka withdraws from Northern Trust, ends season

(Reuters) - World number seven Brooks Koepka's 2019-20 season came to a close on Wednesday as he withdrew from this week's FedExCup playoff opener in Norton, Massachusetts, the PGA Tour said on Wednesday.

Koepka, who has been battling hip and knee issues, was 97th on the season-long FedExCup points list and would have needed a good finish at this week's Northern Trust to finish inside the top 70 and advance to next week's BMW Championship.

The former world number one, who has two top-25 finishes in 13 starts this season, missed the cut at last week's Wyndham Championship where he said he was having difficulty getting over to his left side.

"This is physical," said Koepka. "I know how to do it, I can do it, I just physically can't do it."

Four-times major champion could still play in the Sept. 17-19 U.S. Open, which is part of the 2020-21 PGA Tour schedule after having been postponed from its original June date due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Koepka finished runner-up at last year's U.S. Open where he was bidding for a three-peat.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)