Rory McIlroy reveals heart worry ahead of his first tournament of 2018 season
IN a huge golfing surprise, Rory McIlroy has revealed less than a week before he tees-up in his first event of 2018 that he will be required to undergo a cardiogragm on his heart once every six months and also an MRI scan every year.
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McIlroy has not competed since finishing well down the field in last October's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and purposely has remained side-lined from formal competition to allow his injury rib to fully heal.
The current World No 11 arrived back to the UAE last weekend and while his nagging 2017-long rib injury has fully healed he has somewhat shocked the golf world with revelations the 28-year old has a heart concern.
"The rib’s fine, no problems whatsoever – I had an MRI scan on my thoracic spine and all was okay," said McIlroy to the Telegraph.
"But I’ve got a bit of an irregularity with my heart that I have to keep on top of.
"I have a flat T-wave and I’ll have to get an echo [cardiogram] on my heart every six months and an MRI scan every year.
“I suffered a really bad viral infection in China 18 months ago and they told me that’s the reason that I have this thickening of my left ventricle and there’s a bit of scar tissue.
“For now, I just need to stay on top of it and have to stay fit. Hey, I was planning on doing that anyway.
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I’ve got a bit of an irregularity with my heart that I have to keep on top of
“Maybe before, I had to win from the front. I just don’t feel that now. I don’t fear any of them. Any one of them. I’ve beaten them before.
“I know that I’m on track to where I want to be.”
McIlroy will tee-up next Thursday in the UAE capital without a victory in 2017 and not having tasted success since capturing the PGA Tour's season-ending 2016 Tour Championship and the week prior the Hazeltine Ryder Cup.
The closest he went to success in season 2017 was finishing runner-up to fellow Irishman Paul Dunne at the British Masters while earlier in the year he lost a play-off, and revealing his rib injury for a first occasion, at the BMW SA Open and being staged again this week in South Africa.
It is what will be driving the four-time Major winner when he kick starts his 11th season in the pay-for-pay ranks.
“I don’t care about the world rankings as I think about number of wins, the ability of the players against me, the number of majors the others have.
“I don’t feel I need to compare myself to anyone else, because I know what I can do. I’m not hung up on it,” he said.
“I still feel that on my day, if I’m on my roll, and especially if I’m playing with them… I just crave to be in that position again.
“That hasn’t always been the case with me. The first three years with my career I struggled when it came to that head-to-head stuff down the stretch, with the big guys, but now I actually think it’s when I am at my best.
“I played my best last year when I played the last round of the British Masters and actually had a sniff.
“Once I give myself a shout, I fancy it now.
“Maybe before, I had to win from the front. I just don’t feel that now. I don’t fear any of them. Any one of them.
“I’ve beaten them before. I’ve seen what I have done in practice before, that I know I’m on track to where I want to be.
“It’s nice to be World No. 1 for sure, and I will get back there, but it’s all about winning tournaments.
“And I will give myself the best chances this season.”
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and and event he is yet to win after previously finishing runner-up, will be the first of eight events for the Florida-based McIlroy leading up to April's Masters at Augusta National.
