Rory McIlroy will face the media tomorrow for the first time since his shock withdrawal from the Honda Classic last week.
McIlroy claimed he was “in a bad place mentally” after pulling out of the defence of his title midway through his second round, but later released a statement to say a sore wisdom tooth was the reason for his early exit.
The world number one had played the opening eight holes of his round in seven over par, before finding a water hazard on the 18th and immediately quitting the tournament.
It was McIlroy’s first ever withdrawal from a tournament as a professional, but follows on from losing in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship to Shane Lowry and missing the cut in the Abu Dhabi Championship in his first event since signing a multi-million pound deal with Nike.
McIlroy has 14 days from the date of the withdrawal to submit written evidence to the PGA Tour to support his claim of medical grounds, with a fine or suspension possible if the body is not satisfied with his explanation.
But a more public explanation is also on the cards with the 23-year-old scheduled to give a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Assuming he is fit to play, the Holywood lad is at least guaranteed four rounds at Doral, as the USD 8.5million event - won last year by Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose - has no cut.
Meanwhile The European Tour have confirmed its support for the proposed ban on anchored putters from 2016.
At the end of last month, the PGA Tour came out against the ban, joining the PGA of America in opposing the move.
Chief executive George O’Grady added: “The European Tour has been fully involved in the consultation process which ended on February 28, and deeply value this involvement. Our members support the unique role played by the governing bodies in formulating the Rules of Golf.
“Virtually all of our tournament committee and representatives supported it.”
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