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Woods voices doubts over McIlroy’s return

WISCONSIN — Tiger Woods has a few warnings for Rory McIlroy and they run contrary to the world No 1’s claim that he is “100 per cent” healthy as he returns to competitive action for the first time in almost two months.

Rory McIlroy. Photo: Getty Images

Rory McIlroy. Photo: Getty Images

WISCONSIN — Tiger Woods has a few warnings for Rory McIlroy and they run contrary to the world No 1’s claim that he is “100 per cent” healthy as he returns to competitive action for the first time in almost two months.

Woods believes McIlroy will have to play through the pain barrier if he is to win his fifth Major at the 97th PGA Championship, which starts today. He also raised the prospect of it being merely a question of time before the Irishman required an operation on the left ankle in which he ruptured a ligament in a friendly kick about the week before the Open.

Many, including Colin Montgomerie and leading coach Butch Harmon, have expressed shock at the speed of McIlroy’s comeback. Woods said he was not surprised, but relating it to his own experience of returning from injuries, spelt out the challenges for McIlroy, not just here but in the future.

“It’s a matter of how long is he going to have to go with it like this? Or is he going to have it surgically repaired?” said Woods.

“As far as his talent and to be able to play golf, that’s not going to be the problem; he understands how to play. It’s a matter of physically can he do it? I’ve had injuries where I blew out my knee and played for a good nine months before I had it fixed.”

McIlroy seems to believe that he will not need to go under the knife, either in the short or long term. Under fitness adviser Steve McGregor — who is something of an expert with ankle injuries, having worked with Premier League teams Manchester City and Aston Villa, as well as the NBA’s New York Knicks — McIlroy has built up the muscles to strengthen the joint.

He has shown no ill-effects in his four days of practice here and has been seen jogging up some of the many hillocks on this most undulating of Major courses. Nevertheless, Woods predicted an uncomfortable week. “Is he going to be in pain? Probably, yeah,” said Woods. “Swelling is probably going to occur. But that’s why the physios are there. I’m sure they’ll get him organised.”

If only there were experts on site who could give Woods’ career the order it requires. While world No 2 Jordan Spieth — paired with McIlroy in the opening two rounds — tries to become the third player to win three Majors in one season, Woods’ primary mission is to avoid becoming the first 14-time Major winner to miss three Major cuts in a row.

But if he is to keep this season alive, then he must finish high up here. If he fails to — and does not enter next week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina — he will not qualify in the top 125 who play in the five-week FedEx Cup play-offs. Far from his old assured self, Woods, 39, almost confessed to it all being up in the air.

“I’m just trying to get my game better for years to come,” he said. “If I play well, I play well and I’ll play in more events. If I don’t, then I have more time to practise and get ready for next season.”

The Woods narrative has stalled. It used to be all about him, but here he was being asked for his opinion on McIlroy, on the brilliant Japanese 22-year-old Hideki Matsuyama, on Indian golf and even the restaurant he opened in Florida on Monday night. Watching him fall so flat at tournaments such as the US Open, it is difficult to envisage Woods coping with this brutal examination. He is a couple of rounds away from 2015 being a lost year.

In contrast, McIlroy still has the “game’s best” tag and the conviction that he can rejoin the Major trail. While Woods sounded dubious about McIlroy’s chances here, Darren Clarke was more positive.

“Rory may not be competitively sharp,” said Clarke, “but he’s done many amazing things in his young career, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him contending.”

They used to say the same about Woods. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

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