Rory McIlroy completed nine holes of practice on the eve of the Uspga Championship at Aronimink near Philadelphia on Wednesday after a painful right toe problem forced him to stop after only three holes the previous day.
The 37-year-old said he was “pleasantly surprised” by how his foot held up after a switch of footwear and extra padding helped him get through the session. McIlroy had been suffering pain from the little toe on his right foot, which was caused by a blister under the toenail at last week's Truist Championship at Quail Hollow. At the start of this week he removed the nail and popped the blister in an effort to ease the problem.
“Popping the blister relieved the pressure but it was swollen and bruised, so it's just sore,” McIlroy said. “But it's fine, all good.” He added that he was “pleasantly surprised how good it felt” after Wednesday’s round of practice, and said the changes made the difference. “I figured it out and separated the little toe from the other ones and a bit of cushion around it definitely helped,” he said. “And then just going to a bigger shoe and a different style of shoe as well, a little wider and a little softer in the toe box. It's half a size up and it's a wide fit so there's just a bit more room.”
McIlroy said the issue does not bother him while he is hitting shots, but walking downhill can still create discomfort when his foot slides to the end of his shoe. “Walking downhill, whenever your foot slides into the very end of your shoe is when it maybe gives me a bit of bother but it's totally fine. A mountain out of a molehill,” he said. The 7,394 yard Aronimink course is known for a demanding and undulating walk, but McIlroy said the problem had eased enough for him to continue his preparation for the second major of the year.
That matters because McIlroy begins his attempt to win a third Uspga title at 13:40 BST, 08:40 local time, in a group with Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm. The Northern Irishman arrives after successfully defending his Masters title at Augusta last month, and the focus now turns to whether his body, and not just his game, holds up through four more rounds.
