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Rory McIlroy withdrew from the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational simply earlier than the beginning of his third spherical on Saturday. McIlroy, who shot a 4-under 68 on Friday to maneuver himself into the highest 10 of the leaderboard, cited a again damage as the rationale for his departure.
After arriving on the course for his preround warmup on Saturday, McIlroy felt discomfort in his again whereas making an attempt to loosen up on the vary. He withdrew about half an hour earlier than his 12:55 p.m. ET tee time.
“Whereas warming up within the health club this morning, I felt a small twinge in my again,” McIlroy stated in an announcement. “As I began hitting balls on the vary earlier than the spherical, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my decrease again. Sadly, I am not capable of proceed and need to withdraw. I used to be excited to compete this weekend. I want the Arnold Palmer Invitational an important end and stay up for being again subsequent yr.”
The world No. 2 advised Golf Channel that he probably may have performed by way of the damage, however with massive tournaments like The Gamers subsequent week and the Masters in a month — McIlroy is the reigning champion at each tournaments — he felt the “danger wasn’t definitely worth the reward” to play by way of spasms. As a substitute, he opted for relaxation and remedy so he can try and be prepared for TPC Sawgrass subsequent week.
This marks the primary time in 13 years that McIlroy has withdrawn throughout an occasion, final occurring on the 2013 Honda Traditional.
Any time a golfer offers with again ache or discomfort, there may be at all times an elevated concern. Contemplating McIlroy was trailing by 9 photographs getting into Saturday’s third spherical, the profession grand slam winner clearly felt it wasn’t value making an attempt to push by way of and probably worsen his damage.
McIlroy was already planning to take Monday off and arrive at The Gamers on Tuesday together with his pre-tournament press convention scheduled for 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Seashore, Florida.
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