Rory McIlroy Aggravates Back Injury at 2017 Players Championship

Golfing superstar Rory McIlroy told reporters he aggravated a back injury after he shot an opening-round 73 on Thursday at the Players Championship, according to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel.

It's unclear how the ailment will affect his status the rest of the weekend at TPC Sawgrass. 

McIlroy, 28, remains one of the top golfers in the world, but in the past few seasons, he has fallen out of the spotlight somewhat as Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day have emerged as elite players.

While McIlroy won both the British Open and PGA Championship in 2014, he watched as Spieth win two majors in 2016, while Day won the PGA Championship in 2015 and has ascended to the top of the golf rankings.

McIlroy wasn't exactly chopped liver in those seasons, of course, finishing with four top-10 finishes in the majors in 2015 and 2016 to go along with four total wins across all tournaments. And certainly, any conversation debating the top player in the world will include him along with Spieth and Day.

As for 2017, injuries have already become a major storyline. While McIlroy has been ranked as high as No. 2 this season, he also missed significant time with stress fractures in his ribs that kept him sidelined for a little over a month and cost him all of February.

"I can’t even run at the minute because if my feet hit the ground hard at all, the vibration in my rib cage sort of hurts," the two-time PGA Championship winner said of that injury on Jan. 24, per Joel Beall of Golf Digest.

When McIlroy is healthy and on his game, few players are more compelling. The majors lose some of their luster when the Northern Irishman isn't in the running as well.

If this latest injury threatens to derail his quest for a title at the Players, it will be a disappointment for both McIlroy and the sport of golf.