Defending champion Rory McIlroy is set to be a game-time decision Thursday at The Players Championship.
The world No. 2 from Northern Ireland arrived in Ponte Vedra Beach late Wednesday after withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday, when he strained his back during a warm-up session in the gym.
McIlroy spoke with reporters at TPC Sawgrass after spending roughly 25 minutes testing his swing on the practice range.
"It's better. It's better than it was. I hit up until a 6-iron on the range there and it felt OK. I've got about, I don't know, 20 hours until I tee off, or until I'm supposed to tee off tomorrow. So yeah, we'll see. I'm taking it sort of hour by hour. But it feels better. That's all I can say. I couldn't stand to address the ball on Saturday morning on the range at Bay Hill, and it's obviously better than that.
"So yeah, probably a game-time decision, but all indications are pointing in the right direction. Hopefully a good night tonight. The drugs are working wonders, and then just keep it going from there."
McIlroy said he hasn't been able to do much since seeing his physio Saturday, but he isn’t experiencing pain at the moment.
"I would say just more like sensitivity," he said. "It's not really on the site, or it's more like the big area, even just hitting balls there for a little bit, I feel my muscles around the area getting a little fatigued. My right adductor started to cramp a little, but it's fine; it's expected. More like sensitivity rather than pain."
McIlroy won last year's event in a playoff against J.J. Spaun. Like Scottie Scheffler (2023, 2024), McIlroy is a two-time champion, having first won the PGA Tour's flagship event in 2019.
Only Jack Nicklaus has ever won the tournament three times.
"I've been playing here since 2009, so it's not like I don't know the place," McIlroy said. "We're going to walk nine holes now with a wedge and a putter just so I can get a feel for the rough around the greens and how firm the greens are. It seems like a pretty different setup this year than in previous years in March."
He added that he is confident the sensitivity will subside over the week, having dealt with something similar at the 2023 Tour Championship, and he isn’t concerned about aggravating his back.
"It's not structural, it's not joint, it's fine," the five-time major winner said. "It's purely muscular discomfort and fatigue. There's nothing I can do, at least from what I've been told, that's going to harm it."
