Rory McIlroy shot a round of two-over-par 74 on day one of The Players Championship on Thursday.

It was a stuttering start for McIlroy at The Players Championship as he made three bogeys and a solitary birdie on day one in Ponte Vedra Beach.

After a fine start to the 2026 PGA Tour season, the five-time major champion’s back injury came at the worst possible time.

McIlroy was understandably rusty at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday, having not played a round of golf since Saturday last week at Bay Hill.

The Northern Irishman is seven shots adrift of the leaders after the opening round of The Players Championship.

McIlroy said his back felt much better ahead of The Players, but there is no doubt that he wasn’t at his explosive best on day one in Jacksonville.

Rory McIlroy admits to ‘weird’ feelings on day one at The Players

The 29-time PGA Tour winner was quite obviously nowhere near his best on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy was asked by reporters if he has had to change his expectations due to his lack of preparation heading into the tournament this week.

“Yeah, I felt like — it’s weird, I obviously played on Friday; it’s not as if I’ve taken a ton of time off. But just felt like unbelievably rusty out there,“ McIlroy said.

“Yeah, I’m glad I got through the round. Hopefully tonight goes well and I’ll get out there tomorrow, and I was trying to just get back to even par for the day on that back nine.

“Couldn’t quite get there. But starting with a couple of sort of birdie chances tomorrow on the back, so as I said, try to get it back to even par, and honestly, I don’t feel like I’m that far away.

“No one went really low this afternoon, which I expected them to, just because the conditions were pretty benign. So, yeah, if I can go out and shoot a good one tomorrow, I feel like I’ll be right in it for the weekend.“

If McIlroy’s back cooperates overnight and he manages to tidy up his ball-striking, there’s a very good chance that he will have a chance to contend come the weekend.

Rory McIlroy provides back injury update after day one at The Players

McIlroy was asked by reporters whether he felt any pain out on the golf course during his opening round at The Players.

“No, I would say the most discomfort was like when the ball was below my feet or with chipping,“ the Northern Irishman said.

“Just like getting down a little bit to it. Honestly, overall it was fine. Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually all pretty good.“

He was then asked whether he will receive any more treatment on his back between now and his second round tee time.

“No. It’s probably — yeah, maybe a little more work on the body,“ McIlroy said.

“Just treatment and maybe some stim (stimulation) and whatever else, but actually not really. It’s more just letting everything sort of settle, and hopefully I’ll wake up in the morning feeling just as good if not better than I did today.“

McIlroy was nowhere near his best at The Players Championship on Thursday and his lack of preparation this week has clearly cost him dearly.

However, you absolutely cannot rule the 36-year-old out of winning the tournament just yet. A round in the 60s on Friday and he will be right back in this thing.