Rory McIlroy confessed that his back injury is proving more “stubborn” than expected and forced him to postpone his arrival at The Players until Wednesday.
The world number two and defending champion made his admission 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 withdrew 30 minutes before his third round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday.
In a statement, he said he'd felt “a small twinge” in his back while warming up in the gym that morning.
“As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back,” he added.
He headed home for treatment, but with his recovery taking longer than expected, he could end up not playing a practice round for his title defence.
McIlroy is scheduled to join Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama in a featured group on the first two days.
However, his injury raises questions about his participation and the risk of doing further damage before his Masters defence at Augusta in just over four weeks.
If he competes at TPC Sawgrass, the Holywood star will be bidding to join Jack Nicklaus and become just the second man to win The Players three times.
Nicklaus won in 1974, 1976 and 1978, while McIlroy, champion in 2019 and last year, is in a select group of two-time champions alongside Davis Love III, Scottie Scheffler, Hal Sutton and Tiger Woods.
Meanwhile, Seamus Powerwill join McIlroy and Shane Lowry at TPC Sawgrass this week thanks to the small print surrounding Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour fold.
Five-time Major winner Koepka qualified thanks to his 2023 PGA Championship win.
As part of his return to the PGA TOUR via the Returning Member Programme, Koepka was added to the field so as not to take a spot from a current TOUR member.
As Koepka’s addition increased the field to 121, the PGA Tour added first and second alternates Patton Kizzire and Power to the draw to round out the threesomes and officially expand the field to 123.
Article Link: McIlroy delays Sawgrass trip over 'stubborn' back injury; Power gets Players start - News - Irish Golf Desk