Rory McIlroy is not only the defending champion but also one of the fan favorites at the 2026 Players Championship. The golfer is walking in the tournament after he made his career’s only second PGA Tour withdrawal at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He suffered from some back issues, and at one point, his participation in the Players was also hanging on a single thread.
Despite concerns about his performance, McIlroy has so far maintained a decent game at the TPC Sawgrass. During round one, the golfer took some time to adjust to the golf course, shooting three bogeys and one birdie to finish with a total score of two under par. There were concerns that he would not make the cut, but McIlroy managed to make a minor recovery in round 2.
As of this writing, the career grand slam winner is in the middle of his Round 2 campaign, having completed 9 holes with a total score of 1 under par. He is now tied for 49th place, narrowly making it under the cut. McIlroy currently has the same score as anticipated for the 36-hole cut at the 2026 Players Championship, which is 1 over par.
Following his disappointing opening round, Rory McIlroy discussed his back in an interview, admitting he still struggles to make shots when the ball is in front of his feet or while chipping. According to ASAP Sports, McIlroy stated:
“No, I would say the most discomfort was like when the ball was below my feet or with chipping. Just like getting down a little bit to it. Honestly, overall it was fine. Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually all pretty good.”
Apart from that, the Northern Irish golfer stated that he felt uncomfortable during his playing at TPC Sawgrass.
Rory McIlroy says to feel “rusty” after one week away from the game
Rory McIlroy withdrew from the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational 30 minutes before Round 3, so the last time he played was Friday, March 6. McIlroy claimed to be feeling rusty during the opening round of the 2026 Players Championship, despite the fact that it had been less than a week. According to Asap Sports, the golfer explained:
“Yeah. Yeah, I felt like — it’s weird, I obviously played on Friday; it’s not as if I’ve taken a ton of time off. But just felt like unbelievably rusty out there.”
Not only that, but Rory McIlroy explained how he approached the competition with no preparations. According to Asap Sports, he explained,
“Yeah, I’ve sort of had zero prep. I hit maybe 30 golf balls yesterday and then went and chipped and putted around the last six holes last night. But I felt like from what I experienced yesterday evening in terms of like the golf course and the greens compared to what we played today, it was so different.”
The World No. 2 also mentioned that the greens on the golf course were a little slower owing to the rain, so he had to make some adjustments to his game as a result.
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