Rory McIlroy Withdraws From Honda Classic
Rory McIlroy withdrew from the Honda Classic in Palm Beach, Florida Friday after a rough start to his season in which he is ranked the number one golfer in the world. McIlroy came into the day at even par after an up and down performance Thursday. The struggles continued Friday for McIlroy as he finished the first eight holes seven over par. Yes, considerably, the best golfer in the world lost seven strokes in eight holes.
According to Yahoo Sports, his ninth hole of the day on the Par-5 18th led to Rory’s early departure from the tournament. Playing his second shot, McIlroy found the water before taking a drop and chipping to the green. Before attempting the putt, McIlroy walked off the course and officially withdrew from the tournament.
The early exit for McIlroy was not the beginning of his terrible start to the season. After being ranked number one overall to start the year, McIlroy failed to make the cut at Abu Dhabi and followed it up with a loss in the first round of the Match Play Championship.
The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland has had many memorable moments on the golf course since turning pro which makes his disastrous start to the year even more confusing. According to Golf Digest, McIlroy confirmed that his switch from Titleist to Nike equipment is not to blame for his bad play. The PGA Tour released a statement from McIlroy himself after his unexpected exit.
“I sincerely apologize to The Honda Classic and PGA Tour for my sudden withdrawal. I have been suffering with a soar wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future,” Mcilroy explained in his statement. “It began bothering me again last night, so I relieved it with Advil. It was very painful again this morning, and I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me and begun to affect my playing partners.”
Whether the 2012 PGA Tour Player of the Year bounces back or not, you can guarantee McIlroy will not only have his wisdom tooth taken care of but will also work on the flaws in his swing before his next appearance. Walking off the course is a rarity in golf, but seeing a double-bogey and triple-bogey on his scorecard before he has finished nine holes is unbelievable. Nevertheless, McIlroy is scheduled to play in next week’s WBC-Cadillac Championship at Doral.
