Golf

McIlroy pulls out of Bay Hill ahead of Players' defence

Mar 8, 2026

Rory McIlroy has withdrawn from the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational after he felt muscle spasms in his back that were not going away.

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The spasms were not thought be to serious enough to keep him out of The Players Championship next week where McIlroy will set out as the defending champion.

Even so, it was his first significant issue with his back since the Tour Championship in 2023, which he played with some discomfort. A month later, though, he went 4-1 while leading Europe to another Ryder Cup victory.

McIlroy is approaching a big stretch in golf that culminates with the first major of the year at the Masters on April 9-12, with the Northern Irishman starting there too as the defending champion. He won last year to become only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy withdrew about 30 minutes before his tee time on Saturday. One of his managers said he experienced muscle spasms, and they weren't going away as he tried to warm up on the range in warm weather at Bay Hill.

It was only the third time McIlroy has been forced to withdraw from a tournament.

He left the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2009 with a flu virus and food poisoning, and he withdrew from the Honda Classic in the middle of the second round in 2013, first citing a sore wisdom tooth and a week later apologising by saying his head was not in the right place.