"I would say the most discomfort was like when the ball was below my feet or with chipping. Just like getting down a little bit to it. Honestly, overall, it was fine. Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually all pretty good."
"It's weird, I obviously played on Friday; it's not as if I've taken a ton of time off. But just felt unbelievably rusty out there. I'm glad I got through the round."
"Honestly, I don't feel like I'm that far away. No one went really low this afternoon, which I expected them to, just because the conditions were pretty benign. So, yeah, if I can go out and shoot a good one tomorrow, I feel like I'll be right in it for the weekend."
Rory McIlroy competed in the Players Championship despite withdrawing from the previous week's Arnold Palmer Invitational due to back spasms. He shot an opening round 2-over 74, finishing tied for 69th place, seven shots behind the leaders. McIlroy cited rustiness as his primary concern rather than his back injury. Limited pre-tournament preparation—arriving Wednesday and hitting only 30 balls on the range—affected his performance. He made one birdie, hit six of 14 fairways, and 10 of 18 greens while struggling with putting and chipping. McIlroy expressed confidence about catching up, noting that no competitors shot particularly low scores in benign conditions.
Read at ESPN.com
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