Rory McIlroy cut short his Tuesday practice round at Aronimink Golf Club after playing only three holes, dealing with a painful blister on his right foot less than a day after he ripped off a toenail that had been bothering him.
The six-time major champion said the blister was on his pinky toe and sat underneath the nail, making it hard to address until he dealt with it Monday night. He said the problem began developing on Friday, got worse enough to affect his walking Sunday, and then eased after he softened the nail in a bath and burst the blister underneath. “Yeah, I’ve got a blister on my pinky toe on my right foot, but it’s underneath my nail,” McIlroy said. “I can’t really get to it, so it’s a little sore. But I’ll be all right.”
McIlroy’s abbreviated outing came as he prepared for the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where players can walk over a half-dozen miles across the week. He had already been seen limping during Sunday’s final round of the Truist Championship, then was spotted messing with his shoe and sock on his right foot before leaving the course early on Tuesday.
That adds a little unease to a week in which McIlroy arrived as the No. 2 favorite behind Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1 and the defending PGA champion. McIlroy said he had to go up a shoe size to make room for the blister, but insisted the problem had already improved by Tuesday. “I ended up ripping the toenail off last night, just because it was bothering me so much,” he said. “I just got in the bath and got the toenail to soften up and then burst the blister that was underneath. It feels better today.”
For now, the immediate question is not whether McIlroy can talk his way through the injury. It is whether a right foot that forced him off the course after three holes can hold up long enough for four days of major championship golf.
