Rory McIlroy’s Tuesday practice session at the second major of the year ended prematurely due to a persistent blister on his right foot that has been troubling him for days.
According to reports from the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, the four-time major champion played only three holes on Tuesday before discomfort from a blister on the pinky toe of his right foot forced him to stop.
Journalists following McIlroy noted that he removed his shoe on the third fairway but completed the hole. He took it off again on the fourth tee before getting into a cart for a ride back to the clubhouse. He later told Golf Channel’s Kira K. Dixon that he had soaked his foot Monday night and removed the toenail afterward. On the fourth tee, he even tried on another person’s shoe, indicating that a different pair might be on the way, and said the blister didn’t bother him when standing.
After the final round of the Truist Championship on Sunday, a reporter asked McIlroy if he was limping. “Yeah, I’ve got a blister on my pinky toe on my right foot, but it’s underneath my nail,” he said. “So I can’t really get to it or so it’s a little sore, but I’ll be all right.” McIlroy mentioned he first felt the blister on Friday afternoon but joked he couldn’t use it as an excuse for poor play. He added that he wasn’t concerned about it long term: “No, it’s fine. I’ll be OK.”
Earlier Tuesday, speaking with the media, McIlroy shared his thoughts on the Aronimink course, praising its style of golf. “There’s a lot of bunkers. I think it provides quite a nice bit of variety with shorter par-4s, a couple of longer par-4s. The par-3s, there’s three pretty long ones and a shorter one,” he said. “In this day and age, I’m not sure if it’s going to test all aspects of your bag. Strategy off the tee is pretty nonexistent. It’s basically bash driver down there and then figure it out from there. But the greens are the main focus this week, and getting yourself in the right sections of the greens, making sure you leave yourself below the hole for the most part, is key.”
McIlroy is grouped with Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm for the first two rounds, teeing off at 8:40 a.m. ET on Thursday.
