PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy’s Players Championship week began on a bit of a shaky note due to a back injury he suffered at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Ranked No. 2 globally, McIlroy, who is also the defending Players and Masters champion, had to withdraw from the API at Bay Hill just before the third round last Saturday.
He spent a few days recuperating at home, ultimately arriving at TPC Sawgrass on Wednesday afternoon.
His performance ended at even par, wrapping up with a 1-under 71 on Sunday. It resembled the play of someone who hadn’t been able to practice recently.
McIlroy barely made it through to the weekend, securing his spot by birdieing the last hole on Friday.
“I’m happy after four rounds and feeling like my body held up well,” he reflected on Sunday. “Getting through the four days and feeling good physically is a win. My weekend scores… well, they might not show it, but my game improved as the week progressed. I hit the ball decently, but the greens were tricky.”
Now, there’s that lingering question of whether he’ll add another tournament before Augusta given his somewhat lackluster performance this week. Initially, this was meant to be his last tournament tune-up ahead of his Masters title defense.
The next events on the PGA Tour schedule include the Valspar Championship, the Texas Children’s Hospital Houston Open, and the Valero Texas Open before the Masters kicks off.
“We haven’t made any decisions yet,” he commented on possibly adding to his schedule. “I’ll gauge how my body feels and how I’m doing at practice and home. If I start to get that itch, I might consider adding an event.”
“I think having a weekend here was essential for playing a few extra days,” he added. “I’ll see how next week goes, how I respond when getting back to a more regular practice routine, including the gym, and then reevaluate.”
When discussing the course at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy remarked, “Sometimes it feels significant, sometimes, not so much. I’ve had mixed results here, but some good seasons followed. It’s a fair benchmark, though not infallible, as conditions can sway a bit. It requires you to really push to score.”
He also mentioned, “I feel like my ball-striking has been solid these past few days, despite the outcome. There are positive signs, even if the results didn’t entirely reflect that.”
Regarding his participation in Tuesday’s TGL game, he said with a hint of uncertainty, “We’ll see… well, not yet. Just, we’ll see.”
