Rory McIlroy Withdraws from Honda Classic Citing Toothache

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy withdrew from the Honda Classic after eight holes in the second round citing problems with a wisdom tooth. McIlroy was seven over par in the second round when the WD occurred. He left playing partners Ernie Els and Mark Wilson after shaking hands on the eighth green.

He told reporters on site:

“I have been suffering with a sore wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future," McIlroy said. "It began bothering me again last night, so I relieved it with Advil. It was very painful again this morning, and I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me and had begun to affect my playing partners."

McIlroy apologized to the sponsor and added that the Honda Classic is one of his favorite tournaments.

He added that even if results have not shown it, he felt that his game was getting better.

Read more: http://www.golf.com/ap-news/mcilroy-walks-course-honda-classic#ixzz2MJYG4T4D

McIlroy said in his press conference earlier in the week that his game was getting back into shape. He admitted that he sometimes has a tendency to get his swing plane in the wrong location and when that error shows up, he gets misses. However, he looked relatively on track with a 70 in the first round of the event. 

McIlroy is slated to play at the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral next week. 

Kathy Bissell is a Golf Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from the USGA, PGA Tour or PGA of America.