Rory McIlroy withdraws from $20m PGA Tour event minutes before tee time in shock 13-year first

Rory McIlroy has withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational less than an hour before his third-round tee time.

The reigning Masters champion was set to begin his round at 5:55pm UK time, sitting on -4 after two days of the PGA Tour event.

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But at 5:30pm it was announced that McIlroy would not be taking to the course on Saturday, instead pulling out due to injury.

He is stated to have suffered a problem with his back that has forced him to withdraw from a tournament for the first time since 2013.

That came during the Honda Classic that year due to toothache.

McIlroy was nine shots off the lead after his opening two rounds, sitting in the chasing pack on four-under-par.

Daniel Berger leads the way heading into the weekend, after posting an impressive -13 to boast a strong advantage at the top.

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, there is a total purse of $20million on the line for the world’s best golfers.

$4million of that will go to the winner, while over $2million goes to the runner-up and £1.4million is taken home for third place.

McIlroy will have been hoping to claim a big cut of that, but he will now miss out on any prize after withdrawing.

And there are now also concerns over his fitness ahead of the Players Championship and The Masters.

More to follow…