Rory McIlroy Finishes 2017 Players Championship at 3-Over Amid Back Injury
Rory McIlroy wrapped up his fourth round Sunday at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and now the focus shifts to McIlroy's health and immediate future.
McIlroy shot three over for the round, bringing him to two-over for the tournament. Here's a look at his final-round scorecard:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Overall | E | -1 | -1 | -1 | E | -1 | E | E | E | --- |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 72 |
| Score | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 75 |
| Overall | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | --- |
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As he headed for the clubhouse, McIlroy was 12 shots back of Players Championship leader Si Woo Kim.
As a whole, the Players Championship wasn't a complete disaster for McIlroy, especially considering he's suffering from back problems, having already missed time earlier this year due to a stress fracture in his ribs.
"I've been struggling with it a bit this week, felt it for the first time on Sunday," McIlroy said Friday, per the Telegraph's James Corrigan. "I'm going for a MRI scan just to make sure it's not serious and then I'll see what we do from there."
After he sat at even par through the first two rounds, McIlroy's back essentially eliminated him from title contention at TPC Sawgrass.
As was the case throughout the event, McIlroy was unable to find a groove Sunday.
The four-time major champion only enjoyed brief flashes where everything clicked, such as his chip on No. 14 to save par, courtesy of the PGA Tour:
McIlroy got his round off to a good start with a birdie on No. 2 but gave the shot back with a bogey on No. 5. He repeated the pattern over the next two holes and made the turn at even par.
He fell to two-over with bogeys on the 11th and 15th holes before getting back to one-over with a birdie on No. 16.
McIlroy's Players Championship concluded with a double bogey on the final hole. After his drive landed left of the fairway, he deposited his approach into the rough, well short of the green. From there, he still needed two shots to get onto the green and two-putted to wrap up his tournament.
McIlroy will likely be disappointed by his Players Championship finish, but his back issues will be of far greater concern. Tiger Woods' career is an example of how difficult to predict and handle back injuries can be.
A lot more needs to go wrong for McIlroy to match Woods' lengthy list of health problems. McIlroy admitted, however, "there are so many unknowns and unless you get an image taken of it you just don't know," per Corrigan.
McIlroy has a month to recover before the 2017 U.S. Open tees off June 15 in Erin, Wisconsin. Before then, ESPN.com's Bob Harig speculated McIlroy's availability for the BMW PGA Championship May 25 in Surrey, England, could be in jeopardy.
As long as McIlroy can show he's healthy by the time the 2017 Memorial Tournament rolls around June 1, he should be in the hunt for his second U.S. Open title.
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