World No 1 Rory McIlroy admitted he was “100 per cent” ready to defend his USPGA title after playing nine holes at Whistling Straits on Monday.
“To play golf, it’s 100 per cent,” McIlroy told reporters on the 18th green after playing the final nine holes at the links-style course in Wisconsin.
“To go back on a soccer pitch, it wouldn’t be quite ready, but to do what I need to do this week, it’s 100 per cent.”
McIlroy, who damaged his left ankle on July 4th, has spent the weekend at Whistling Straits and played briefly both days after spending a few days last week practicing at a course in Portugal.
“It feels good,” he said. “I’ve played quite a lot of golf since starting to hit balls (on July 28th). I’ve been chipping and putting since basically this happened. I was putting in the boot. So I’ve kept that part of the game sharp.”
McIlroy believes that because he pivots on his left foot, instead of rolling on its side, when he swings that he isn’t concerned about making the injury worse by playing this week.
“It actually feels better when I go at it as hard as I want, because my left foot sort of spins out of the way whenever I hit the driver anyway,” he said. “It takes a lot of pressure off it.”
McIlroy will play the first two rounds with Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth, and British Open winner Zach Johnson. The trio is scheduled to begin the first round at 7.20pm Irish time on Thursday and 2.05pm on Friday.
