Ryder Cup: Here’s what you need to know

S.H. Park wins first major championship

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy will have an MRI on Monday when he returns to Northern Ireland after completing THE PLAYERS Championship. McIlroy has been dealing with back pain this week while competing on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He is expected to make the cut after shooting 73-71 in the first two rounds. “It’s obviously not 100 percent, but it’s good enough to get myself around here for the next couple of days,” McIlroy said about his back. He said the pain is coming from the same area as the stress fracture in his ribs that sidelined him for the start of the year. “If that injury was an 8 or a 9 in terms of pain and soreness and stiffness, this is around a 4 or 5,” he said. “It might just be a flare-up of what happened previously and I just need to rest for a few days and it might be OK. Hopefully that’s what it shows in the scan next week.” The pain he’s feeling this week feels like muscular discomfort instead of pain in a bone or joint, he said. McIlroy suffered a stress fracture in his ribs while testing golf equipment during the offseason. The injury sidelined him from mid-January until March. McIlroy, who announced this week that he has signed an equipment endorsement deal with TaylorMade, said his current discomfort may have been caused by a rapid return to practice after taking time off for his wedding. “I took three weeks off and then I went back at it again on Friday and instead of maybe gradually building it up again, I hit balls for four or five hours on Friday and did the same on Saturday,” said McIlroy, who got married on April 22. “I felt a bit of stiffness on Sunday, hit a couple of drives that didn’t quite feel right. Maybe I should have just taken it a bit easier over the weekend, but I was excited to get back, excited to play again.” McIlroy, who ranks 48th in the FedExCup, has finished in the top 12 in the past four PLAYERS. This is his first start since finishing seventh at the Masters.

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Rory McIlroy has struggled to get off to a strong start recently, and it looked like the trend may continue at this week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. McIlroy bogeyed the par-5 18th, his ninth hole, to make the turn in even-par. He made three birdies and three bogeys on his front nine while the rest of the field was going low on a calm day at Sheshan International Golf Club. RELATED: Li takes lead in Round 1 | Im in the mix once again | Leaderboard | Tee times | How to watch McIlroy made a move on his second nine, making five birdies in a six-hole stretch to shoot 31. His 67 put him in seventh place, three shots behind leader Haotong Li. McIlroy started his charge at the par-5 second hole, where he hit his second shot to 5 feet. He missed the short eagle putt, but it was the first of four consecutive birdies. McIlroy hit less than half his fairways Thursday (6 of 14) and 12 greens in regulation. “I got off to a bit of a slow start,â€� McIlroy said. “The course is set up tough. The rough is pretty thick in areas. The greens are pretty firm and I think I went out with the mind-set of sort of trying to play my way into the round. I did that. I birdied the holes that I should birdie on the back nine, apart from 18. … I got myself to under par, then hit a bad drive on 18. But made a good bogey in the end. “Once I made the turn, things started to go for me a little bit more. After nine, I didn’t expect to shoot 5 under par, but it’s nice to shoot that score and get right into the tournament.â€� McIlroy began his FedExCup defense with a third-place finish at last week’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. He had to dig himself out of a hole, though, after a first-round 72 that left him eight shots behind co-leaders Tiger Woods and Gary Woodland. McIlroy shot 65-63-67 in the final three rounds to finish six behind Woods. “The last few tournaments I’ve played, I’ve had a bad opening round and then been trying to play catch up,â€� McIlroy said. “At least now, I’m right in the thick of things from the start, which is a better place to be.â€� McIlroy also is in a better position that last year, when he got off to an inauspicious start in his first start of the season. He shot 10-over 298 to finish T54 at last year’s HSBC Champions, one of just three finishes outside the top 25 in 19 starts.

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