Rory McIlroy's troubled start to the year took another bad turn on Friday when he withdrew from the Honda Classic in Florida without finishing nine holes of his second round.

Starting on the back nine, the defending champion and world No1 was seven over for eight holes at Palm Beach Gardens. He hit his second shot into the water on the par-five 18th and was done for the week. He told reporters as he walked to the parking lot that he was not in a good place mentally, before later citing toothache for his withdrawal.

In a statement on the PGA Tour's website, he said: "I have been suffering with a sore wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future. It began bothering me again last night, so I relieved it with Advil. It was very painful again this morning, and I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me and had begun to affect my playing partners.

McIlroy had a level-par 70 on Thursday, but was certain to miss another cut after his flurry of dropped shots, before deciding enough was enough. He had double-bogeyed the 11th, taken a seven at the par-four 16th, and also given shots away at the 13th and 17th holes.


McIlroy is accompanied off the course. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
"I came here with every intention of defending my Honda Classic title," McIlroy said. "Even though my results haven't revealed it, I really felt like I was rounding a corner. I regret having to make the decision to withdraw, but it was one I had to make. I sincerely apologise to the Honda Classic and PGA Tour for my sudden withdrawal."

The 23-year-old Northern Irishman has struggled this year to rediscover the form that elevated him to the top of the world rankings. He signed a £150m equipment deal with Nike in January, but his performances with the manufacturer's clubs have been below expectations.

He began 2013 by missing the cut in Abu Dhabi. After a four-week break, he lost in the opening round of the World Match Play Championship, and then made only two birdies in the 27 holes he played in the Honda Classic.

Sounds like it was really bugging him

Tooth or score lol jk

Ya it must have though...defending his title too.

he's such a baby

Excuses....

He played like shit and quit.

Maybe he should listen to the words of David Duval.... "You never know who came to watch you play that day, how far they drove or from where they flew. That's part of why I never quit."

Jordan was the same way in Basketball iirc

I was thinking about this and was thinking that IF it were true, it wouldn't bug me too much.
But now I just feel like he shoulda just finished the damn round.
Makes me appreciate Tiger's effort for playing through his injury and what could have been risking his entire career.
Rory wasn't risking anything... Only hurting his image and ranking with another mc. His playing partners are professionals and should be able to deal with a member of their group playing poorly.

The players can handle someone playing bad for sure.
He just wanted to get out, when you're in big pain it's not easy nor fun to play golf.
Also to play with someone when you know how much they want to get off the course aint very fun either tbh.

so Mcilroy admitted he was in the wrong, and should have just played it out

Good deal, young golfer made a mistake and owned up to it. Nice to see.