Rory McIlroy didn’t just say Monday that his injured left ankle will be a non-factor at this week’s PGA Championship.
He went so far as to declare himself “100 percent” fit.
Speaking to reporters at Whistling Straits for the first time, the world No. 1 said: “To play golf, it’s 100 percent. To go back on the soccer pitch, it wouldn’t be quite ready. But to do what I need to do this week, it’s 100 percent.”
McIlroy, who ruptured ligaments in his left ankle during a friendly soccer game July 4, hasn’t played since the U.S. Open in mid-June. He said Monday that he wanted to return at last week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he was the defending champion, but his trainer held him out as a precaution.
McIlroy played a pair of practice rounds over the weekend at Whistling Straits, where he finished one shot out of the PGA playoff in 2010.