McIlroy might sit for rest of season
Back injury hampered world No. 4 in PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy’s PGA Tour season might be over.
The four-time major champion intimated after his third-round 73 that his health had become an increasing burden on his game.
“I’m looking forward to 2018,” he said in response to a question about his back injury.
Then after closing out his PGA Championship with a 3-underpar 68 on Sunday at Quail Hollow Club, he shed more light on an injury to his left rhomboid muscle in his back that he says might keep him out for the remainder of the season.
“The next big thing is April, and that’s really what my focus will be on from now until then,” McIlroy said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. You might not see me until next year. You might see me in a couple of weeks time.”
In many ways, injuries have come to define McIlroy’s year.
McIlroy, 28, won in May last year in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open before claiming titles twice in three starts in the Deutsche Bank Championship and Tour Championship in September. That helped him to capture the FedExCup, which he followed with a stellar performance in the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy, who entered the year ranked second in the world and is fourth, was sidelined until March after he suffered a hairline fracture to his rib in the South African Open in January.
He returned with three top-10 finishes in four starts in March and April, including a tie for seventh in the Masters, before he began experiencing back pain during The Players Championship in May. An MRI on the Monday after the tournament revealed the back pain was a “low grade response” after his previous rib injury.
Coming into the final major of the year, McIlroy’s injury problems seemed to be behind him.
Fresh off ties for fourth and fifth in his last two starts and playing a course where he boasts the lowest scoring average in the field, he was the betting favorite at 7-1.
Rounds of 72 Thursday and Friday, compounded with a 73 Saturday, meant McIlroy was little more than an afterthought for most of the tournament. It wasn’t until his 68 on Sunday that he revealed the extent of his injury.
“I have upped my practice coming because I wanted to feel like I was in a good place in my game,” said McIlroy, who finished nine shots behind winner Justin Thomas. “But it’s a tough one, because I go out there and play and shoot decent scores, but when I come off the course, I feel my left rhomboid going into spasm. (The) inside of my left arm goes numb.”
He plans to fly to Northern Ireland to meet with his trainer. They’ll discuss options, McIlroy says, with playing the Masters without pain his primary goal.
“It’s a Catch 22. 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?” he said.
“I wanted to play the season, but I just haven’t it allowed it the time to fully heal,” he added. “But I know if I want to challenge on a more consistent basis, I need to get 100% healthy.”