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McIlroy aims for rare Masters-PGA double
Rory McIlroy is targeting a place in golf history as he attempts to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1975 to win both the Masters and US PGA Championship in the same year.
The Northern Irishman, who successfully defended his Masters title last month, remains determined to compete at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia despite a painful toe injury that forced him to abandon a practice round after just three holes on Tuesday.
Injury concerns surface ahead of tournament
McIlroy revealed he had removed the nail from his right little toe earlier in the week, describing the process with a laugh: "Softened it up in the shower and just ripped it off." He showed the results to reporters, admitting he would need to wear shoes half a size larger to accommodate the injury.
After scouting the Donald Ross-designed course earlier in the day, McIlroy began his practice round but was seen limping on the third hole. He removed his shoe briefly before stopping play at the fourth tee and leaving the course by golf cart. Despite the setback, he appeared in good spirits.
Recent form and preparation
McIlroy's preparation for this week's major included skipping the PGA Tour's signature event at Doral to attend a state banquet for King Charles' visit to Washington DC. He also flew in his longtime coach Michael Bannon to his Florida base to fine-tune his game for the remaining three majors of the year.
"It's been a really good two and a half weeks of practice and getting back into playing competitively," McIlroy said. His only competitive outing since the Masters was a joint-19th finish at Quail Hollow, where he admitted he didn't give himself a chance to win but gained valuable insights about his game.
"There's still a lot that I learned about my game and that's what I needed to do coming into this week."
Rory McIlroy
Chasing golf's ultimate prize
As the reigning Masters champion, McIlroy is the only player with a chance to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam this season. Tiger Woods is the only golfer to hold all four modern majors simultaneously, but his victories spanned two calendar years (2000-2001).
When asked about the possibility of winning all four majors in one year, McIlroy acknowledged the difficulty: "I think it's possible. But it's incredibly difficult to achieve. There's a reason that no one's been able to do it before in the history of the game."
He added that major championships are won with grit and determination rather than statistics, noting that his recent success has built confidence: "Once you start to get over that hump and you get a win, you get another win, it sort of breeds confidence from there."
Tournament details and competition
The US PGA Championship runs from Thursday to Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania. McIlroy will face stiff competition from world number one Scottie Scheffler, who skipped last week's tournament to prepare specifically for this event.
Other contenders include Players champion Cameron Young and England's Matt Fitzpatrick, while McIlroy's Ryder Cup partner Tommy Fleetwood showed promising form with a fifth-place finish in Charlotte last week.
Live text commentary will be available for all four rounds, with radio coverage of the final two rounds on BBC 5 Live and Sports Extra.
