Rory McIlroy dismissed the “preposterous” idea TGL players are more prone to injury after finishing on the projected cut line at the 2026 Players Championship.

McIlroy’s appearance at the unofficial fifth men’s major was in doubt after the Northern Irishman withdrew from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational mid-competition. 

The Northern Irishman only arrived at TPC Sawgrass 20 hours before his tee time and was extremely rusty as he carded an opening round of two-over 74 following a warm-up that saw him hit approximately 30 balls. 

McIlroy improved that score by three strokes on Friday and, as things stand, is projected to make the cut on the number at one-over par and stick around for the weekend at the PGA Tour’s flagship event. 

The reigning Masters champion, and his playing partners Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele, drew huge crowds but not everyone was supportive of the Ulsterman. 

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On the fourth hole, McIlroy was heckled by a group of spectators who shouted for his ball to find the water after he hit his approach. 

His ball did find a watery grave but he managed to hole an 11-foot putt to save bogey. 

“There were screams of ‘get in the water’ from in the gallery up the top of the hill,” Sky Sports’ on-course commentator, Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley, said on the broadcast. “They won’t be here for long.”

The moment resurrected memories from last September’s Ryder Cup where McIlroy was frequently targeted by a volatile crowd at Bethpage Black in New York. 

McIlroy did not address what transpired in his post-round interview. 

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Instead, he expressed his frustration at not getting the most out of his round. 

“Not really,” he said when asked if he feels good. I wish I was further up the leaderboard.

“I felt like I played well enough today to be up the leaderboard, I just couldn’t get a putt to drop. 

“I feel like I hit the ball a bit better today than I did yesterday also, so hopefully I’ve done enough to get into the weekend and have another two days at it.”

McIlroy said he is still having a hard time trusting his back. 

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It hurts more, McIlroy said, when he is chipping or if the ball is below his feet. 

McIlroy hasn’t missed a cut since the 2025 RBC Canadian Open. Before that, he went nearly a year without missing one. 

He said he takes pride in having only missed approximately 30 cuts in more than 280 starts on the PGA Tour. 

McIlroy’s official record is 244 cuts made from 276 starts. 

“But then in golf, as everyone knows, you have to sort of blow it off and move on to the next thing,” he said.  

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“But if I had have missed the cut I probably would have added an event going into the Masters, so hopefully I’m here for the weekend and I don’t have to do that.”

McIlroy dismisses TGL injury link

McIlroy is not the only high-profile player struggling with injury. 

Collin Morikawa only lasted one hole at this week’s Players after tweaking his back. 

Morikawa is the latest TGL player to sustain an injury. 

Over the past year, several other participants of McIlroy and Tiger Woods‘ indoor golf league have got hurt. 

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Xander Schauffele, Billy Horschel, Sahith Theegala and Justin Thomas have all faced protracted spells on the sidelines. 

Horschel dismissed the link. 

And McIlroy also took a dim view when asked about it by the Palm Beach Post. 

“It’s a little more travel for the guys, a little more,” McIlroy said, adding that his ball speed is much higher in a competitive environment.  

“To put it solely on that is preposterous.”

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McIlroy said he still plans to participate in next week’s TGL matches on 17 March. 

He also doesn’t believe Woods will play, though, despite the 15-time major champion revealing at the Genesis Invitational last Month that an appearance at The Masters wasn’t off the table. 

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