The news is not ideal with Rory McIlroy continuing to be troubled by a “stubborn” back problem as he tries to be fully fit to defend his Players Championship title at Sawgrass next week.
The Northern Irishman pulled out ahead of last Saturday’s third round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational citing stress in his lower back following a pre-round work-out in the gym.
The latest news is Golf Channel presenter Todd Lewis received a text from McIlroy, which read: “The back is being a bit more stubborn than we thought, 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.”
RORS INJURY UPDATE NOT GOOD …
The double @THEPLAYERS champ still very much troubled by back pain post last Saturday’s @APinv withdrawal & now doubt if he will be fit enough for his title defence @TPCSawgrass
Read: https://t.co/FT8IRwIz24
PGAT
✅ @TOURMISS… pic.twitter.com/FjfRgxK8vN
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) March 9, 2026
‘Hope’ now sounds a key word for the McIlroy while in the bigger picture it may seem a wiser move to sit out this week’s title defence and concentrate more on being 100 per cent fit for next month’s Masters, now just a month away.
The Grand Slam champion last dealt with significant back issues in 2023, when he recovered sufficiently to score four points for Europe in their Ryder Cup victory in Rome.
The 36-year-old, who made rounds of 72 and 68 at Bay Hill before the back issue flared up, had only withdrawn mid-competition once before in his PGA career, back in 2013 at the Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches.
However, McIlroy was somewhat embarassingly was forced out in the defence of his 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews when he injured his ankle ahead of the championship in playing a friendly game of football in the days ahead of the major
