Rory McIlroy withdrew from the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational just before the start of his third round on Saturday. McIlroy, who shot a 4-under 68 on Friday to move himself into the top 10 of the leaderboard, cited a back injury as the reason for his departure.

After arriving at the course for his preround warmup on Saturday, McIlroy felt discomfort in his back while trying to loosen up on the range. He withdrew about half an hour before his 12:55 p.m. ET tee time. 

“While warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a small twinge in my back,” McIlroy said in a statement. “As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back. Unfortunately, I’m not able to continue and have to withdraw. I was excited to compete this weekend. I wish the Arnold Palmer Invitational a great finish and look forward to being back next year.”

The world No. 2 told Golf Channel that he potentially could have played through the injury, but with big tournaments like The Players next week and the Masters in a month — McIlroy is the reigning champion at both tournaments — he felt the “risk wasn’t worth the reward” to play through spasms. Instead, he opted for rest and treatment so he can attempt to be ready for TPC Sawgrass next week. 

This marks the first time in 13 years that McIlroy has withdrawn during an event, last happening at the 2013 Honda Classic.

Any time a golfer deals with back pain or discomfort, there is always an elevated concern. Considering McIlroy was trailing by nine shots entering Saturday’s third round, the career grand slam winner clearly felt it wasn’t worth trying to push through and potentially worsen his injury.

McIlroy was already planning to take Monday off and arrive at The Players on Tuesday with his pre-tournament press conference scheduled for 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.