Rory McIlroy Reflects On Tough Week At The Players Championship And Hints At Schedule Ahead Of The Masters

We didn't get to see Rory McIlroy go the distance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend after a back injury spoiled his plans and forced him to withdraw ahead of the third round.

However, he's pushed through this past week and entered the field at TPC Sawgrass. He even managed to make the cut and play the full weekend.

It wasn't the best outing for the World No.2, though. He shot two-over on the opening day, but recovered with a one-under on Friday to make the cut, before a par on Saturday. A score of 71 on the final day left McIlroy on even par for the tournament, but he's still found reason to be positive.

McIlroy went into The Players Championship without playing a practice round and essentially made the game-time decision to get involved on the Thursday.

Between some dodgy putting and rare mistakes here and there, the fact the Northern Irishman got through the weekend at all is good news for anyone hoping to see him defend his crown at Augusta National next month.

Speaking to the press after his final round on Sunday, McIlroy assessed his performance over the four days and appeared relatively pleased, all things considered.

He said: "I'm happy I got through four days and my body feels good. I feel like my game sort of progressively got a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores probably didn't reflect it over the weekend.

"I hit the ball well. I just didn't make anything on the greens. I'm just 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."

Now, all eyes will be on McIlroy ahead of The Masters. Will he be fit and ready to defend his title? Is he going to play again before that trip to Augusta at the start of April? The man himself isn't even sure of the answers to those questions, it seems.

"I'll see. I haven't really made a decision either way. I'll see how my body feels," he said. "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."

Again, he pointed to this weekend at TPC Sawgrass as good progress towards full recovery, adding: "I feel like it was important to make the weekend here and play an extra couple of days.

"Really, I'll just see how the next week goes, see how once I get back to actually 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 also hinted he hasn't considered whether he will be involved in his upcoming TGL match on Tuesday. His Boston Common Golf team take on Tiger Woods' Jupiter Links side in the playoff this week.