Things are not looking good for Rory McIlroy’s participation in the 2026 Players Championship. The World No. 2 is currently not in good health, as he withdrew his name from the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational barely 30 minutes before Round 3 began. McIlroy revealed that he had a muscular spasm in his lower back that is getting more painful when he is taking shots.
Since then, there have been doubts about what Rory McIlroy’s back has been through and whether he would participate in the tournament at TPC Sawgrass. The PGA Tour’s X account recently posted an update on McIlroy and how his back continues to be an issue for him. The golfer has stated that he is in South Florida receiving treatment and hopes that his back will improve by Wednesday, the same day he plans to leave for the Players.
The X post by the PGA Tour highlighted McIlroy’s statement as it 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.”
The 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational marked only Rory McIlroy’s second withdrawal in his 18-year career, demonstrating how much his back is an issue for him. McIlroy’s involvement in this year’s Players Championship was extremely important because he was not only the defending champion, but he also had the opportunity to make history by becoming only the second golfer to win the tournament three times in their career.
Rory McIlroy recently declared that his game was headed in the right direction
The next few weeks are going to be massive for the golf world, and the back spasm is one of the worst things that could happen to Rory McIlroy. Interestingly, the golfer recently claimed that his game is improving with major tournaments like the Players and the Masters approaching. McIlroy discussed this in a press conference on March 4 at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational, claiming that he made several nice shots during his previous tournament, which gave him a lot of confidence.
According to Asap Sports, McIlroy stated,
“It feels like it’s in really good shape. I’m really happy with the signs that I saw at Pebble Beach and Riviera. I think I did really well in the strokes gained approach in those two events. I drove the ball pretty well at Riviera. I just couldn’t make a putt for 27 holes. But I put that down to the sort of very fast, bumpy poa annua. But I was really happy with where my game was coming out of the West Coast, and I’ve kept ticking along the past week and played some golf, and I’m excited for these two weeks. I feel like I’m in good shape.”
The Players Championship begins on Thursday, March 12, at the TPC Sawgrass, and McIlroy still has a couple of days to recover and come back.
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