Rory McIlroy makes uncertain confession before | Golf News

Rory McIlroy confesses he is not sure if he’ll compete again before defending his Masters title, following a difficult week at The Players.

McIlroy was a “game-time decision” to take part at TPC Sawgrass after a back injury led him to withdraw halfway through last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The muscle drawback subsided enough for the 36 yr previous to tee off in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, but he appeared notably rusty, particularly on and around the greens, as he barely made the cut.

A one-under-par 71 on Sunday left McIlroy at even par for the week, ending his remaining spherical before chief Ludvig Aberg teed off. However, the Northern Irishman will regard the fact that he was ready to play at all this week as a important optimistic with the Masters just 25 days away.

His plans for the intervening weeks stay unclear, though.

Ideally, McIlroy would take three weeks off to guarantee he arrives at Augusta National totally energized, contemplating the many calls for positioned on a reigning champion during match week.

But given the shortage of sharpness he displayed at Sawgrass, McIlroy said he would possibly add an event to his schedule. He will make that resolution based on how his physique and swing really feel during follow in the upcoming days.

“I’ll see. I haven’t really made a decision either way,” he said concerning his pre-Masters schedule. “I’ll see how my body feels. We’ll see how I feel in practice and at home, and if I get itchy feet at home, maybe add an event at some point.

“I really feel prefer it was important to make the weekend right here and play an further couple of days. But yeah, actually just see how the next week goes, see how once I get back to really a full follow schedule and in the gymnasium and stuff like that, see how my physique reacts to that, and then I’ll see.”

McIlroy will skip this week’s Valspar Championship, a tournament he hasn’t competed in for eight years. The Texas Children’s Houston Open begins a week later on March 26. He competed at the Memorial Park event in 2025 two weeks prior to claiming the Green Jacket, and it would be the sensible option if he desires a warm-up tournament before traveling to Augusta, instead of the Valero Texas Open, which takes place the week before the Masters.

With McIlroy poised to finish outside the top 50, it will be recorded as a disappointing title defense of the crown he secured 12 months ago. However, considering his preparation was disrupted by the muscle inflammation in his back, he was content with his week’s performance.

“Happy I bought through 4 days and my physique feels good,” he said. “I really feel like my sport type of progressively bought a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores in all probability did not mirror it over the weekend. I hit the ball properly. I just did not make something on the greens.

“Just trying to take the positives. I feel like I hit the ball well the last three days. I didn’t get a lot out of it. But I do feel like I saw some good signs even though the scores didn’t quite reflect it.”