McIlroy plays through wrist pain for a 70

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- Rory McIlroy played well enough under the circumstances to celebrate a few times during his round of par 70. The problem was, pumping his right fist was something he just could not do.

The U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland struck a tree root while hitting a shot on the third hole, injuring his wrist so much that he wrapped it in ice between shots and had it taped up by a medical trainer during the round.

He said right after he finished that he was heading for an MRI last night. A statement issued by his management group ISM said: "The initial diagnosis shows that Rory has strained a tendon in his right wrist. He will obviously rest it tonight and he will see how it feels in the morning on the range."

He considered withdrawing during the round, as he felt pain every time he made contact (often following through with one hand).

"It's the last major of the year. I've got, what, six or seven months to the Masters? So I might as well try and play through the pain and get it over and done with," he said.

Attempting the shot in the first place might have been a mistake, reminiscent of the way young amateur Tiger Woods tried to slash his way out of Shinnecock Hills' rough during the 1995 U.S. Open and had to withdraw. "I thought if I could make contact with the ball and just let the club go," McIlroy said, "I might get away with it. You know, in hindsight, it would have been better to chip out sideways." Lardon shoots a 73Huntington native Brad Lardon, a club pro from Bryan, Texas, shot a 73. "I'm not here to make the cut, I'm here to just add them up and shoot as low as I can," he said . . . Former Clarke High and Nassau Community College star Arjun Atwal shot 78 . . . Ryo Ishikawa, the 19-year-old from Japan who contended at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Sunday, shot 85.