Rory McIlroy injury update: Why he left PGA Championship practice after 3 holes

Rory McIlroy’s biggest obstacle to chasing this year’s calendar Grand Slam may be his own right foot.  

With the PGA Championship beginning on Thursday, McIlroy cut his practice round short at Pennsylvania's Aronimink Golf Club Tuesday, leaving after just three holes. According to multiple reporters on site, McIlroy was fussing with his right shoe throughout the round, leading them to believe that a blister beneath his right pinky toe was bothering him. He removed his shoe several times and examined his foot during the abbreviated round before he headed back to the clubhouse. 

 ESPN reported that McIlroy was in the locker room trying on different shoes.  

The blister first appeared to be an issue during the second round of last weekend’s Truist Championship. McIlroy played through it but was seen limping during the final round. He finished tied for 19th in his first tournament after winning the Masters.   

McIlroy downplayed the injury Sunday after shooting a final-round 67, but he was clearly managing the issue coming into this weekend’s PGA Championship. He refused to use it as an excuse for his third-round 75.  

After limping through that final round at Quail Hollow, however, he had already trimmed his practice schedule. He had planned to just play nine holes Tuesday and nine Wednesday to put less pressure on the blister. 

On Tuesday, he did not even get through four.  

McIlroy has won back-to-back Masters titles and is chasing the calendar Grand Slam. No player has won all four majors in a single calendar year, but Tiger Woods did win three in 2000 and the 2001 Masters to win all four in a row. A PGA Championship win this weekend would also give McIlroy his seventh major title, moving him past Nick Faldo as the most successful European golfer in major championship history.  

The PGA Championship begins Thursday with McIlroy set to tee off at 8:40 a.m. ET alongside Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth.  

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rory McIlroy blister concerns for PGA Championship? What we know