Rory McIlroy pulls out of Memorial Tournament with rib injury

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – MAY 14: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot on the first hole during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship at the Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on May 14, 2017 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy will not play in next week’s Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour in Dublin, Ohio, backing out to further rest a nagging rib and back injury.

McIlroy first injured himself during the BMW South African Open in January, finishing a playoff runner-up to Graeme Storm. The injury kept McIlroy out of action for nearly two months, with the four-time major winner returning at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Following a tie for seventh place at the Masters, McIlroy took time off to get married to then-fiancee Erica Stoll, go on a honeymoon and then prepare to return at The Players Championship. During The Players, McIlroy clutched his back at different times during the tournament, admitting he had tweaked the initial injury in his preparation to come back after the post-Augusta layoff.

McIlroy finished T-30 at TPC Sawgrass, flying to Belfast the next day for a MRI which didn’t show exacerbation of the original injury. Nonetheless, McIlroy pulled out of a scheduled start at this week’s BMW PGA Championship in England, the flagship tournament on the European Tour, as a precaution.

Now, McIlroy is out of Memorial, which was his last planned start before June’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

McIlroy’s manager told Golf Digest that the intention is to give the Ulsterman the maximum rest time to prepare for the year’s second major.

PGA Tour video on Yahoo Sports

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports