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Rory McIlroy will be ready for Aronimink.
The two-time Masters champ revealed why he was limping around Quail Hollow during the final round of the Truist Championship on Sunday.
“Yeah, I’ve got a blister on my pinky toe on my right foot, but it’s underneath my nail,” McIlroy told reporters. “So I can’t really get to it, so it’s a little sore, but I’ll be all right.”
McIlroy fired a final-round 67 after struggling with a 75 on Saturday — a round that included six bogeys and knocked him out of contention. McIlroy ended up finishing tied for 19th.
“Started to feel it like Friday afternoon. I wish that was an excuse, but absolutely not,” McIlroy said with a laugh when asked if it was the reason for his poor showing on Saturday.
He reiterated that he was “fine” as he sets his sights on the PGA Championship, which begins Thursday outside of Philadelphia.
McIlroy received misguided criticism after his win at The Masters for discussing how he prepared for Augusta by taking day trips up there on his private jet from his home in Florida.
Some felt it was an unfair advantage that he was given such access as the defending champ, however any player in the field could have done the same.
On Sunday, the 37-year-old joked about how he got ready for this upcoming Grand Slam event.
“I lived there for a week, just played it every day. I think that’s allowed. No, I went up and back in the same day [last week],” McIlroy said. “No, it was good to get a look… you know we played the BMW there in 2018 but the course played a lot differently. It was wet in 2018 and the greens didn’t play as fast or severe as what I thought they played last week when I played. It’s not a long golf course but the big defenses are the greens and they can tuck the pins away if they want to.
“It was nice to get an early look at it, it just means the week of the tournament you are not under pressure to play a lot of holes. Historically, the practice rounds at the PGA can be excruciatingly long. So, probably nine holes Tuesday, nine holes Wednesday.”
McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are the pre-tournament favorites.
English (US)