Fit but 'rusty' McIlroy off round one Players' pace

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: Defending champion Rory McIlroy recovers from a back injury to begin his defence of the Players Championship but he ends round one seven shots off the pace.

Fit but rusty McIlroy off round one Players pace Image source, Image caption, McIlroy only used irons and wedges during practice on Wednesday but hit driver on his opening hole of the tournament By Peter Scrivener BBC Sport senior journalist Published 12 March 2026 Updated 52 minutes ago The Players Championship, round one leaderboard -5 S Straka (Aut), M McNealy (US), L Hodges (US), S Theegala (US), A Smotherman (US)*; -4 J Thomas (US), R Henley (US), T Moore (US), C Young (US) Selected: -3 T Fleetwood (Eng), L Aberg (Swe), V Hovland (Nor); -2 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); Level R MacIntyre (Sco), J Rose (Eng), S Scheffler (US); +2 R McIlroy (NI); +3 M Penge (Eng); +4 S Lowry (Ire) * denotes yet to finish round one Full leaderboard Rory McIlroy recovered sufficiently from a back injury to begin his defence of the Players Championship but he wrapped up round one seven shots off the pace. The world number two only arrived at TPC Sawgrass on the eve of the PGA Tours flagship tournament, having opted to stay at home for treatment on the injury that forced him to pull out of last weeks Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. (and honestly, same)

He showed no obvious signs of discomfort in crushing his opening drive 329 yards down the middle of the fairway, but he took 73 more shots for a two-over par total, with birdie putts on the 16th and 17th holes grazing the edge of the cup.

The Details

“It was fine,” he dropped when asked how his back felt during the round. “The most discomfort was when the ball was below my feet or with chipping.

I played on Friday; its not as if Ive taken a ton of time off, I just felt unbelievably rusty out there. ” McIlroys Ryder Cup team-mate Sepp Straka is alongside three Americans setting the clubhouse pace on five under.

Why This Matters

Austrian Straka chipped in for an eagle three on the par-five 16th in his bogey-free 67 to join Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges and Sahith Theegala atop the leaderboard.

Sports analysts are already debating what this means for the competition.

The Bottom Line

This story is still developing, and we’ll keep you updated as more info drops.

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