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Rory McIlroy’s status for The Players Championship this week is now very much in doubt.
McIlroy had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week due to a back injury. He’s been at home recovering ever since, and now won’t even make it up to TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday at best.
McIlroy pulled out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday ahead of his third round due to the back injury, which marked just the second time he’s had to withdraw from a PGA Tour event in his career. He said he “felt a small twinge” in his back while he was warming up in the gym that morning, and that he started dealing with muscle spasms in his lower back while hitting balls on the range at Bay Hill. McIlroy was 4-under at the time.
McIlroy made it sound like the back wasn’t that big of a concern when he withdrew on Saturday, and that he was doing so more as a precaution than anything. Monday’s update, however, isn’t a great sign with The Players Championship on deck this week.
If McIlroy does make it to the course outside of Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday and is able to play, that means that he’ll almost certainly do so without a practice round under his belt. While McIlroy knows the course, that’s certainly not an ideal situation.
But with the Masters coming up in about a month, pushing a back injury isn’t something McIlroy will likely want to do — even with The Players Championship being the Tour’s marquee event. Only time will tell if McIlroy is in a spot to compete.
McIlroy beat J.J. Spaun in a playoff last year at TPC Sawgrass to claim The Players Championship. That was part of a three-win season for him, and came before he finally won at Augusta National and completed the career grand slam. McIlroy has made three starts so far on Tour this season, and he finished T2 at The Genesis Invitational last month behind Jacob Bridgeman.
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McIlroy had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week due to a back injury. He’s been at home recovering ever since, and now won’t even make it up to TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday at best.
McIlroy pulled out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday ahead of his third round due to the back injury, which marked just the second time he’s had to withdraw from a PGA Tour event in his career. He said he “felt a small twinge” in his back while he was warming up in the gym that morning, and that he started dealing with muscle spasms in his lower back while hitting balls on the range at Bay Hill. McIlroy was 4-under at the time.
McIlroy made it sound like the back wasn’t that big of a concern when he withdrew on Saturday, and that he was doing so more as a precaution than anything. Monday’s update, however, isn’t a great sign with The Players Championship on deck this week.
If McIlroy does make it to the course outside of Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday and is able to play, that means that he’ll almost certainly do so without a practice round under his belt. While McIlroy knows the course, that’s certainly not an ideal situation.
But with the Masters coming up in about a month, pushing a back injury isn’t something McIlroy will likely want to do — even with The Players Championship being the Tour’s marquee event. Only time will tell if McIlroy is in a spot to compete.
McIlroy beat J.J. Spaun in a playoff last year at TPC Sawgrass to claim The Players Championship. That was part of a three-win season for him, and came before he finally won at Augusta National and completed the career grand slam. McIlroy has made three starts so far on Tour this season, and he finished T2 at The Genesis Invitational last month behind Jacob Bridgeman.
Continue reading...
