McIlroy says he’ll miss British Open

The world No. 1 made the announcement on Instagram, accompanied by an image of him with his left foot in an orthopaedic boot, while watching Andy Murray playing in his Wimbledon quarter final.

He said in a message via his Instagram account: “After much consideration, I have decided not to play in the Open Championship at St Andrews”.

“I said then, and I feel the same way now, you can’t live your life in fear”, said the American.

Paul McGinley told the BBC: “I know St Andrews is a golf course he really loves and a golf course that really suits his game”.

World No. 1 McIlroy clinched his first Open Championship and third major title a year ago with a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. It is unclear where and when McIlroy will be seen in a competitive context again.

McIlroy’s absence makes Spieth the clear favorite at St. Andrews. McIlroy would have been chasing his second Open title and his fifth major, having won at Royal Liverpool a year ago.

Given the strength of the field for The Open and the very few players who’ve accomplished what Spieth now pursues, I’m thinking that with or without Rory McIlroy in contention, Jordan Spieth is climbing up-hill.

He was replaced in the field by Russell Knox, who grew up in Inverness in the north of Scotland and will be making his Open debut.

“Naturally, I am disappointed for Rory as everyone is barracking for Rory as he’s in the prime of his career and he would have had a great chance to win at St Andrews”.

McIlroy’s status for the August 13-16 PGA championship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisc., remains uncertain.

“We want him back, everybody does”, Spieth said in Silvis, Ill., site of the John Deere Classic. “In 2009 when he nearly won, I was pulling as hard as anybody”. I didn’t feel like anything he (McIlroy) was doing was unnecessary risk. It was just an unfortunate situation.

McIlroy says his recovery is going well, but he wants to take a cautious approach. “Bizarrely it was close to where I got a hole-in-one some years back”.