Rory McIlroy survived the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship. But his real battle isn't with the leaderboard. McIlroy is fighting a lingering back injury that still leaves his weekend performance in doubt. After securing his place for the weekend, McIlroy addressed his physical condition. 

“Yeah. No, it feels pretty much there. Not all the way there, but I feel like it's just progressively getting better each and every day.”

His participation in the event had been uncertain. McIlroy entered the week as a game-time decision after withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to back spasms the previous week.

The five-time major winner then described when he first noticed the issue.

“No, because I'm a little more upright with the driver with the longer stuff. It's more when I get over it. So chipping yesterday or when the ball was below my feet, not that I felt it, it was okay. I just had a hard time trusting it more than anything else.”

The first round reflected limited preparation when the career grand slam winner opened with a 2-over 74 and did not record a birdie on any of the par-5 holes, leaving him several shots behind the early leaders.

He responded in the second round with a 1-under 71. A birdie on his final hole, the par-5 ninth, moved him to 1-over for the tournament and secured his place inside the cutline.

With a two-round total of 1-over-par 145, finishing one stroke inside the cutline, the defending champion advanced to the weekend at T51, 13 shots behind leader Ludvig Åberg at the halfway stage.

The 36-year-old added that the most recent round reassured him: “But today, I think having a day where I was like, okay, that was fine, I didn't really feel anything. I woke up this morning and felt fine.”

The situation began earlier in the week before arriving at TPC Sawgrass.

How Rory McIlroy’s Back Injury Developed Before THE PLAYERS Championship

Rory McIlroy’s injury occurred during a gym session when he overextended while performing a hinge movement.

He first felt a twinge that later developed into muscle spasms during warm-ups before the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 7, 2026. The issue forced him to withdraw from the event.

Medical checks confirmed the problem was muscular rather than structural or related to the joints, allowing him to continue competing.

Before the tournament, McIlroy also delayed his arrival at TPC Sawgrass to receive daily treatment sessions with a physiologist in South Florida.

Do you think Rory McIlroy can contend this weekend despite the back issue?

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Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar