McIlroy was 4 under heading into the third round of play before deciding he could not play the weekend.
ORLANDO — Rory McIlroy withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday minutes prior to his third-round tee time, citing a back issue. The PGA Tour reported the back problem. McIlroy had warmed up only briefly prior to the round at the Bay Hill Club, where he won the tournament in 2018.
McIlroy is the defending champion next week at the Players Championship and will also be returning as champion to Augusta National next month, where he completed the career Grand Slam last year with his win at the Masters in a playoff over Justin Rose. The five-time major champion appeared fine on Friday after his second round when he shot 68 to get into the top 10. He talked about his visit to Augusta National last week. “Very pleased. One bogey,” McIlroy said Friday. “Hit it in the water on 8. But made a good putt for bogey there. I really felt like that kept any momentum that I had for the round going. I played the last 10 holes really, really well. Overall real really pleased. Played a very sort of controlled, patient round of golf, which you need to do around here. Yeah, good day's work. “I felt like I played yesterday okay as well. I made a couple of big numbers. I felt like the wind got very strong on us for a portion of the back nine yesterday. Definitely got a lot tougher. I wasn't too displeased with how I played yesterday, obviously I just didn't hold it together and score the way I wanted to coming down the last few holes. But I felt like my game's in pretty good shape the last couple days.”Bob Harig is a senior writer covering golf for Sports Illustrated. He has more than 25 years experience on the beat, including 15 at ESPN. Harig is a regular guest on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio and has written two books, "DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods" and "Tiger and Phil: Golf's Most Fascinating Rivalry." He graduated from Indiana University where he earned an Evans Scholarship, named in honor of the great amateur golfer Charles Evans Jr. Harig, a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America, lives in Clearwater, Fla.
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