Now Rory McIlroy has to play the PGA Championship
Rory is executing either golf’s first injury return hype campaign or an incredible fakeout of the thirsty masses hoping to see him at next week’s major.
We’ve seen injury return promos in other more mainstream sports, but never in golf. Rory McIlroy is either rolling out golf’s first hype campaign for a return from injury or its biggest troll job ever. For the third time in the last two days, McIlroy posted an update to Instagram demonstrating his progress in his recovery from a ruptured ankle ligament. There was the workout routine, then the pics of how his ankle used to look and finally one of the world No. 1 taking full cuts and piping drives on the range.
The latest would seem to be the strongest indicator that McIlroy will tee it up next week at the season’s final major and defend his PGA Championship. He’s not doing some rehab exercise in a gym, but swinging actual golf clubs with no apparent trouble. Rory has not played since mid-June’s U.S. Open, missing title defenses at the British Open and this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational after sustaining the ankle injury during a “kickabout” with friends on July 4.
McIlroy’s publicist quickly denied a report earlier this week that he had a Saturday practice round tee time. Maybe that was so they could roll out their own slow drip of info to hype up his return. Given his increased Instagram activity and the mania around each post, it seems like he has to give it a go at Whistling Straits.
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SB Nation video archives: Urban golfing with a U.S. Open champion (2012)
