Rory McIlroy Withdraws From Arnold Palmer Invitational After Back Injury

Professional golfer Rory McIlroy He withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational after straining his back.

“While I was warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a little twinge in my back,” McIlroy said in a statement on Saturday, March 7. “As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it got worse and developed into back muscles.”

He added, “Unfortunately I can’t continue so I have to withdraw. I was excited to compete this weekend. I wish the Arnold Palmer Invitational a great finish and look forward to coming back next year.”

McIlroy, 36, was sitting in the top 10 on the tournament leaderboard in Orlando, Florida, shooting a 4-under-68 in the second round on Friday, March 6. He withdrew about 30 minutes before teeing off on Saturday.

The reigning Masters champion told the Golf Channel that he might have played too suddenly, but he didn’t want to risk injury with The Players tournament next week, and the opportunity to defend his title at the Masters from April 9.

It is only the third time the Grand Slam winner has withdrawn from a tournament during his long career, most recently the 2013 Honda Classic, where he had to exit in the second round.

He also withdrew from the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2009 suffering from fever and malnutrition.

Last September, McIlroy led Team Europe to the Ryder Cup in the United States, where he – and his wife, Erica Stoll – had to deal with unruly fans throughout the tournament.

Stoll was thrown a drink by a fan.

“There have to be limits, but obviously it wasn’t this week,” McIlroy said at the time. “Erica is fine. She’s a very strong woman. She handled everything this week with class, poise and poise like she always has. I love her and we’re going to have a great time celebrating tonight.”

McIlroy himself had to deal with abuse from fans throughout the weekend, eventually succumbing to an outburst, shouting “Shut the f*** up!” to the fan.

“It was a tough week for all of us,” he said after Team Europe’s win. “But at the same time, we shut them down with our play and the way we played. I got a few whistles because it got to me, but we tried to deal with everything that came our way with class and composure, and for the most part, I felt like we did that.”