Muscle spasms in back plague McIlroy
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The lingering pain that Rory McIlroy felt when he finished the PGA Championship was not just about ending another year without a major.
McIlroy revealed that he has felt spasms in a muscle in his upper back the past few weeks, and he’s not sure when he will play next. It could be in a few weeks when the FedEx Cup playoffs begin. It could be next year.
“I have a good bit of time to get healthy and address a few things going forward,” McIlroy said. “As I said, the next big thing is April, and that’s really what my focus will be on from now until then.”
April is the Masters, the only major keeping McIlroy from the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy has gone three years since his last major title, in the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky. This year was all about injuries, and apparently he’s not over them yet.
“It’s a tough one because I go out there and play and shoot decent scores,” McIlroy said after closing with a 3-under 68 at Quail Hollow to finish the tournament at 1 over, tied for 22nd. “But when I come off the course, I feel my left rhomboid going into spasm. (The) inside of my left arm goes numb. So I don’t know what to do. I’ve got this next week off to assess what I need to go forward.”
McIlroy headed home to Northern Ireland and planned to meet with his trainer to figure out the next step.
He believes he can play well, put good scores together and win tournaments. His concern is that he doesn’t think he can regularly contend unless he gets fully healthy, and he’s not there yet.
If he’s that concerned about the injury, why play?
McIlroy paused for a long time.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I feel like a sense of ... not duty, but I’ve missed a lot of time already. If I’m capable of playing, I feel like, `Why shouldn’t you?’ But then at the same time, if you are not capable of playing at your best, why should you play?”
No-look chip
Jon Rahm struck one of the more memorable shots of the tournament on Sunday, hitting a backward chip on the par-4 18th hole and somehow getting it onto the green.
He was in a tough spot when his second shot stopped in the primary rough near a stream, across the red line marking the water hazard. The right-handed Rahm stood with his back to the green and swung the club backward with only his right arm. The ball bounced four times before rolling 45 feet from the pin.
He missed that putt, settled for bogey and finished at 3 over for the tournament.