Rory McIlroy has admitted that his back injury is proving more “stubborn” than initially anticipated, compelling him to delay his arrival at The Players Championship until Wednesday. The world number two, who is also the defending champion, conveyed this update via text to the Golf Channel.
“The back is being a bit more stubborn than we thought,” McIlroy wrote. “So I’m staying at home today and tomorrow to continue treatment in South Florida with the hope to travel to Ponte Vedra on Wednesday at some point.”
The five-time Major winner had withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last Saturday. In a previous statement, he explained that he felt “a small twinge” in his back during a morning gym warm-up. He added that it “worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back” as he began hitting balls on the range.
McIlroy returned home for treatment, but with his recovery taking longer than expected, there is a possibility he might compete in his title defense without a prior practice round. He is currently slated to join Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama in a prominent group for the first two days.
However, his injury raises concerns about his full participation and the potential risk of aggravating it just over four weeks before his Masters defense at Augusta.
Should he compete at TPC Sawgrass, the Holywood star will be aiming to join golf legend Jack Nicklaus as only the second player to win The Players three times. Nicklaus achieved his victories in 1974, 1976, and 1978. McIlroy, who triumphed in 2019 and last year, is already part of an exclusive group of two-time champions, which includes Davis Love III, Scottie Scheffler, Hal Sutton, and Tiger Woods.
Meanwhile, Seamus Power will be joining McIlroy and Shane Lowry at TPC Sawgrass this week, thanks to a specific condition related to Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour fold.
Five-time Major winner Koepka had qualified for the tournament through his 2023 PGA Championship win. As part of his reintegration into the PGA TOUR via the Returning Member Programme, Koepka was added to the field in a way that did not occupy a spot typically allocated to a current TOUR member.
Because Koepka’s inclusion increased the field size to 121, the PGA Tour opted to include the first and second alternates, Patton Kizzire and Seamus Power, to ensure full threesomes and officially expand the field to 123 players.
