Rory McIlroy battles back problems to make cut at Players Championship
Rory McIlroy has revealed he “felt a little bit better” after scraping through to the weekend at the Players Championship by the narrowest of margins, despite battling ongoing back problems that have hampered his recent form, reports BritPanorama.
The Northern Irishman, defending his title at TPC Sawgrass, managed a second-round 71 to sit at one-over par for the tournament. This left him a distant 13 strokes adrift of Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who produced a sensational 63 to seize control of the leaderboard.
McIlroy secured his place in the final two rounds only after holing a birdie on his closing hole, finishing just one shot inside the cut line.
After the final round, he told Sky Sports: “I felt a little bit better. I would say if anything it was just I was struggling to trust everything was OK yesterday. I struggled a little bit on lies that were beneath my feet and stuff like that, but today I felt pretty good and felt like I hit the ball well. I really just couldn’t get a putt to drop. That was the issue. I tried my best, I grinded and made a good birdie at the last, hopefully to make the cut.”
He added: “Game feels good, I just went five or six days without really touching a club or doing anything so just getting my feels back a little. Hopefully, another couple of days to get myself up the leaderboard. I’m 11 back at the minute, I’m not sure I’m going to contend for the title, but hopefully two good days and have a respectable finish.”
Aberg’s remarkable round saw him tear through the front nine in just 29 strokes, collecting three birdies and an eagle across his opening four holes before adding another eagle at the ninth. The Swede continued his brilliance on the back nine with three further birdies, dropping only a single shot to establish a commanding two-stroke advantage at 12-under par.
American Xander Schauffele sits in second place after finding every fairway during his 65, one stroke clear of compatriot Cameron Young. Justin Thomas and Canadian Corey Conners share fourth position at eight-under, with Austria’s Sepp Straka a shot further back. English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are among those grouped at five-under par.
McIlroy found himself in distinguished company among those battling to avoid an early exit, with world number one Scottie Scheffler also requiring a birdie on his final hole to progress at one-over par.
The defending champion’s struggles come after he withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational before his third round last Saturday. Following a laboured opening round on Thursday, McIlroy admitted he was feeling “rusty” as he worked his way back to competitive action. The four-time major winner now faces a significant challenge to mount any kind of title defence over the weekend at TPC Sawgrass, often called the “fifth major” as it serves as the PGA Tour’s flagship event featuring one of the strongest fields in professional golf.
With the Masters approaching on April 14, McIlroy’s ongoing injury concerns add an extra layer of intrigue to his performance over the weekend. As the tournament unfolds, it remains to be seen whether he can regain the momentum needed to challenge for a title that once seemed within reach.
