Rory McIlroy pushed through a rough start and interference from spectators to secure his place in the weekend rounds at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Following a difficult opening stretch, McIlroy responded when it mattered most during the second round, carding a one-under-par score on Friday to move to one-over overall for the tournament, which was enough to make the cut.

While dealing with some early rust and a lingering back problem, he also had to tune out a small group of antagonistic fans. At one point, several men reportedly shouted “get in the water” as the Northern Irish golfer prepared to hit a shot across a hazard. When the ball eventually found the water, the group celebrated, drawing comparisons to the “hostile” atmosphere his wife and family faced during last year’s Ryder Cup.

According to The Telegraph, a number of the disruptive spectators were quickly removed from the course by officials. It is unclear whether McIlroy actually heard the remarks, but what is certain is that, despite dealing with discomfort in his back, he continues to give his full effort and is relishing the challenge ahead.

Speaking with reporters after completing his round, the 36-year-old said: “Yeah, I mean, I’m happy to be, well, hopefully, depending on what happens this afternoon, but I’m happy to be here for the weekend, I’m happy to get two more rounds at it. So yeah, it would have sucked to be going home this afternoon, so to hang around and hopefully play two more days, yeah, that’s a win.”

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When discussing his back issue, McIlroy admitted it is close to full recovery, although he still needs a bit more time to fully adjust to competing at the highest level again. “Yeah, no, it does, it feels pretty much there, not all the way there,” he added, “but I feel like it’s just progressively getting better each and every day, which is great.”

As McIlroy continues his run at TPC Sawgrass, the negative reaction from certain spectators has stirred memories of how fans behaved toward him and his family during last year’s Ryder Cup.

Speaking to reporters after that event, he revealed how upsetting the experience had been for those close to him, saying: “Erica, my wife, would say she’s a grown woman, she’s strong, she can handle that, but then when it starts to get into your family, I heard stuff about my daughter (Poppy) that I couldn’t even repeat here. It’s horrific.”

He added: “But I think it’s sort of society and culture at the minute as well. It’s that mob mentality where people see other people doing something and then they think it’s okay. And then it sort of builds up.”

Now in March 2026, it seems that his experience at Bethpage Black has helped prepare him to face whatever difficulties arise, including physical setbacks. Reflecting on how he might have reacted if he had missed the cut, particularly after coming so close to an early exit this week, McIlroy offered his view.

“I think it does wound your pride,” he admitted. “I mean, I think I’ve, I don’t know about 200, 280 odd starts on the PGA Tour, and I’ve missed maybe less than 30 cuts. So yeah, I’m proud of that, but then in golf, as everyone knows, you have to sort of blow it off and move on to the next thing”.

“But if I hadn’t missed the cut, I probably would have thought about an event going into the Masters, so hopefully I’m here for the weekend and I don’t have to do that.”