K.H. Lee stays patient on way to win at AT&T Byron Nelson

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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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HAMILTON, Ontario (AP) — Rory McIlroy ran away with the RBC Canadian Open, closing with a 9-under 61 on Sunday for a seven-shot victory. Starting the day in a three-way tie for the lead, McIlroy, who won THE PLAYERS Championship in March, ended any suspense about who would emerge as the champion with five birdies in his first seven holes, none from longer than 8 feet. The only question on the back nine was whether McIlroy would shoot the 11th sub-60 round in PGA TOUR history. He kept firing at flags and even though he missed three of his final four greens, he had a chance on the par-4 18th. But his shot from a greenside bunker went long and he ended up tapping in for bogey to finish at a tournament-record 22-under 258. It was McIlroy’s 16th PGA TOUR victory and 25th win worldwide, and the fourth by at least seven shots. McIlroy will hope to ride the momentum into next week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson tied for second at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Adam Hadwin was the low Canadian, finishing alone in 6th at 12 under.

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