PONTE VEDRA, Fla. – After wrapping up a pedestrian performance at The Players Championship, Rory McIlroy said Sunday that he might look to add an event before his title defense at the Masters.
That’s a subtle difference to what McIlroy said two days ago, when he added that his made cut at TPC Sawgrass was so important because he didn’t “have to” play an extra tournament before the Masters.
“I’ll see. I haven’t really made a decision either way,” McIlroy told reporters on Sunday, after he shot even-par 288 and was outside the top 50 when he finished his round. “I’ll see how my body feels. We’ll see how I feel in practice and at home, and if I get itchy feet at home maybe add an event at some point.
“But I feel like it was important to make the weekend here and play an extra couple of days. I really just want to see how the next week goes, see how once I get back to a full practice schedule and in the gym and stuff like that, see how my body reacts to that, and then I’ll see.”
McIlroy didn’t even commit to playing in the TGL semifinals on Tuesday near his home in South Florida.
McIlroy’s participation in The Players was in jeopardy after he tweaked his back while warming up in the gym before the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He withdrew from the event and, after a few days of treatment, didn’t arrive to the Ponte Vedra area until mid-afternoon Wednesday. He didn’t play a practice round, choosing instead to walk six holes on the back nine.
Swinging with more freedom each round, McIlroy never shot in the 60s in what he was anticipating was his final tune-up before Augusta National.
“I feel like my game progressively got a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores probably didn’t reflect it over the weekend,” he said. “I hit the ball well. I just didn’t make anything on the greens.
“Happy to come through four rounds and feel like my body held up well. A couple of little things to work on, but overall, not the week that I wanted. Just trying to take the positives.”
Not playing another event before the Masters would be a significant departure from how he has approached the run-up in the past few years. Each year since The Players returned to March, in 2019, McIlroy has played at least one tournament before the year’s first major. Last year, he played the Houston Open (two weeks prior). Two of the previous three years, he teed it up in the Valero Texas Open the week before.
Compared to 2025 – when he finally broke through at the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam – McIlroy has played only two fewer rounds worldwide, but last year he won twice in the spring, including The Players. This season he has played well in his limited starts, including a runner-up showing at Riviera, and entered this week ranked first on Tour in strokes gained: total.