It’s going to take more than a nagging toenail issue to keep Rory McIlroy from chasing his second major of the season at the 2026 PGA Championship.
As if there was any real doubt, the world No. 2 is set to tee off at 8:40 a.m. ET alongside Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa. McIlroy seemed no worse for the wear as he prepared for Round 1, as seen in a video shared by the PGA Championship on X.
2026 PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy’s Toenail Talk
McIlroy raised some eyebrows earlier in the week when he cut short a practice round after just three holes. He left the course on a cart, and eventually revealed he had been dealing with a blister under his toenail.
The two-time Masters champion eventually removed the entire toenail — which he showed to reporters on the course during a subsequent practice round — and is wearing a wider shoe this week in the season’s second major.
It hasn’t really affected his betting odds. GolfOdds.com has McIlroy at 9-1 to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy, trailing only Scottie Scheffler on the betting board. McIlroy also appeared in 13.4% of lineups for the DraftKings Fantasy Golf Millionaire Contest for the PGA Championship.
What to Expect From Rory McIlroy at PGA Championship
As for whether the toenail issue will affect McIlroy’s ability to generate power at Aronimink, the early signs indicate he’ll be just fine. No Laying Up’s Chris Solomon was on site on May 13, and he watched McIlroy at the range.
“I know this stuff can kind of wash over you, (but) I saw Rory hitting balls on the range today, 175 (mph) ball speed with the 3-wood, no problem,” Solomon said on the NLU podcast previewing the PGA Championship. “Gets driver in his hand, and they have all the Trackman data on the screen, and assuming flat carry means just a normalized carry distance, he pulls out driver and is just cruising at them, (he had a) flat carry of 339 (yards) on one of the balls he hit. … I was kind of like, are we going to see slower speed with the toenail he ripped off apparently has going?”
He added: “(McIlroy) looked totally fine, and he showed no signs of any limp or anything from the few holes I watched.”
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