Rory McIlroy withdrew ahead of his third-round tee time Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported that McIlroy “tweaked something in his lower back” in the gym before his warmup. McIlroy typically hits a few putts before heading to the range before rounds, but this time he headed straight to the practice tee, hit balls for a couple minutes before making a decision.
McIlroy was seen leaving the practice range at Bay Hill Club and Lodge, roughly 30 minutes before his 12:55 p.m. ET pairing with Ryan Fox. He then retreated to the locker room, gathered his belongings and exited out a backdoor before hopping in his courtesy car and driving himself out of the parking lot around 12:30 p.m.
McIlroy later released a statement, saying, “While warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a small twinge in my back. As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back. Unfortunately, I’m not able to continue and have to withdraw. I was excited to compete this weekend. I wish the Arnold Palmer Invitational a great finish and look forward to being back next year.”
This is just the third mid-tournament WD of McIlroy’s pro career. He pulled out of the 2009 Nedbank Challenge with the flu and food poisoning, and withdrew from the 2013 Honda Classic after playing the first eight holes in 7 over, citing wisdom-tooth soreness and later telling reporters in the parking lot that he was “not in a good place mentally.”
Lewis reported that McIlroy felt he could have played Saturday at Bay Hill but withdrew out of precaution. McIlroy is set to defend his Players Championship title next week at TPC Sawgrass.