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Rory McIlroy withdraws from defending title at British Open with ankle injury

It remains uncertain when McIlroy will be fit enough to compete again.

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McIlroy announced yesterday in a photo on Instagram of him wearing a protective boot that he had suffered a “total rupture” of his left ankle.

“What Scot does not want to play in the Open, let alone an Open at St Andrews.?”

McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell feels that his withdrawal is a setback for all concerned – adding that he felt the Old Course would have suited McIlory down to the ground.

Rory McIlroy had the best odds to win this week at 5/1, but he says that he has indeed ruled himself out to play at the Open Championship this season. Thank you all for your support and best wishes. “Rehab already started… Working hard to get back as soon as I can”. Mickelson won the Scottish Open two years ago en route to his triumph at the Open on the burned acres of Muirfield, which backs on to Gullane at the eastern end of the course.

Citing research conducted at the Penn State Medical Center on the lingering symptoms of ATFL ligament injury – tendinitis, stiffness, swelling and pain to the area of injury – Golf Digest has raised a few questions about how McIlroy’s game could be impacted.

Even when McIlroy’s physical recuperation is complete, he will have to reacquaint himself with matters of basic golfing technicality. The typical recovering period for an injury of his kind is around eight weeks so for every day he is not playing golf it could cost him an astonishing £886,800 over two months.

Now, with a little more than a week until the contenders line up at St. Andrew’s in Scotland, Spieth should stand as the player to beat.

Can Spieth snaffle another major in McIlroy’s absence?

Florida-based Scot Russell Knox, who was first reserve, replaces McIlroy in the field at St Andrews.

McIlroy underwent further scans to determine his participation but he has taken to Instagram to confirm he will not defend his title. Clearly, this was one piece of golfing history McIlroy would rather not have made. You have to enjoy the moment. But I don’t think he did anything wrong. “It’s just bad luck and those things happen”.

“Living in the Bahamas now I found that’s what the locals do and what a few of my friends do, so I’ve been roped into it”.

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“People get hurt taking a shower and doing normal day-to-day things”.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks off the second green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay on Sunday