Rory McIlroy reassessing Masters preparation after Players Championship struggle

By David Charlesworth, Press Association

Rory McIlroy will weigh up whether to play another event prior to his Masters title defence next month after an underwhelming outing at the Players Championship.

McIlroy was defending champion at TPC Sawgrass, where his preparation was hampered by a back injury, and the Northern Irishman could only finish in a disappointing tie for 46th.

He plans to take stock of his fitness in the next few days and will then decide whether to compete again before heading to Augusta, where he completed the career grand slam last year.

“I’ll see how my body feels,” said the world number two.

“We’ll see how I feel in practice and at home and if I get itchy feet at home maybe add an event at some point.

“I feel like it was important to make the weekend here and play an extra couple of days. I’m happy I got through four days and my body feels good.

“I feel like my game sort of progressively got a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores probably didn’t reflect it over the weekend.

“But yeah, really just see how the next week goes, see how once I get back to actually a full practice schedule and in the gym and stuff like that, see how my body reacts to that, and then I’ll see.”