Rory McIlroy said he played through some "discomfort" from his recent back injury while hitting a 2-over 74 in Thursday's opening round of The Players Championship.

Rory McIlroy recovered sufficiently from a back injury to begin his defence of the Players Championship but he ended round one seven shots off the pace.

McIlroy also didn't hit any club longer than a six-iron from his early exit at Bay Hill over the weekend until his warm-up on Thursday, where he mixed one birdie with three bogeys to card a two-over 7...