Rory McIlroy has stress fracture in rib, out of Abu Dhabi Championship

After a runner-up finish in South Africa, we might not see the No. 2 golfer in the world again for a bit

By Kyle Porter

Jan 16, 2017 at 2:03 pm ET • 2 min read

It turns out Rory McIlroy's injury from South Africa last week is more than a tweaked back. McIlroy went for a MRI in Dubai on Monday, and it revealed a stress fracture in his rib that will sideline him for an indefinite period of time. McIlroy was slated to play the Abu Dhabi Championship this weekend, but he has since pulled out of that event.

"It's bitterly disappointing to have to withdraw from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship," McIlroy said in a statement. "I think everyone knows how much I love playing this tournament, which is one of the best on the European Tour thanks to the incredible support of HSBC and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. To be forced to miss this week through injury is really quite annoying to be perfectly honest, but I am sure the tournament will be a huge success and I hope everyone involved has a great week.

"In situations like this, you simply have to listen to the experts, and the team I have consulted have all advised me to rest until my rib has fully recovered."

McIlroy also normally plays the Dubai Desert Classic at the beginning of February and potentially has the Genesis Open in the middle of February in Los Angeles as well. Those are both in doubt with this latest news.

The bigger storyline here is what this means for the Masters. McIlroy will have his third opportunity at the career Grand Slam come April, and he has noted that he was slated to play a lot more than normal in the lead up to Augusta this time around.

"I've tried to alter my preparation for it every year . . ." he told the Irish Independent recently. "That didn't work last year. Let's try something else. I always go up the week before and try to get a couple of practice rounds in, but it often feels like a waste of time. The course is nowhere near as fast as what they set it up to be.

"I'm playing a lot leading up to it this year and will hopefully be competitive and just get into a rhythm of playing. But it's almost like, as Ernie [Els] says, you care too much about it, instead of free-wheeling a little bit."

This is the first time McIlroy will have missed with an injury since his ruptured tendon that caused him to miss a couple of months back in 2015 (including the Open Championship at St. Andrews).