UAE- McIlroy's preparations hit by food poisoning

11/7/2015 3:52:38 AM

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

A club sandwich could derail Rory McIlroy's anticipated showdown with Jordan Spieth and a stellar field at this week's World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai beginning Thursday.

Race to Dubai leader McIlroy had stomach pains which forced him to miss a colourful tournament launch event Tuesday and despite being seen on the practice green early on Wednesday he pulled out of his 10:45am pro-am tee time.

"I'm not feeling great to be honest" he said before retiring to his hotel room. "I had something (to eat) a couple of nights ago and yesterday wasn't good at all. "I thought I would be better this morning... and I came here and tried to hit some balls but even just making a couple of swings my stomach was too sore. So I just need another day of rest and hopefully I will be better tomorrow and I can play."

McIlroy had tweeted a picture Tuesday night of part of a room service menu which had "Club Sandwich" and "Japanese Baked Eel Set" listed. "Who would have thought the eel would be the safer bet!?" he tweeted. The world number three has 24 hours to recover before his 10:45am (0245 GMT) first-round tee time on Thursday when he is due to play alongside world number five Rickie Fowler and big-hitting eighth-ranked Dustin Johnson.

McIlroy has endured an injury-wrecked 2015 after tearing ankle ligaments playing football which caused him to miss the British Open in July where he was defending champion. The Northern Irishman showed glimpses of being close to his best at last week's Turkish Airlines Open where he was tied for sixth giving him high hopes of adding a second WGC title in 2015 to the WGC-Cadillac Matchplay he won in May. World number two and 2015 double major champion Jordan Spieth will start favourite on Thursday when he tees off alongside the defending champion fourth-ranked Bubba Watson and Sweden's Henrik Stenson the world number seven.

international

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.