Woods was forced to pull out halfway through his final round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio on Sunday (August 3) and later revealed he had aggravated a long-standing back problem.

"It happened on the second hole when I hit my second shot, I fell back into the bunker," said the 38-year-old.

"I just jarred it and it has been spasming ever since."

The 14-time major winner had only returned to action in June following three months out after undergoing surgery on his back in March.

In Ohio, defending champion Woods was four-over par and well out of contention at the venue where he has won on eight previous occasions.

At last month's Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the world number 10 finished on level-par which was his worst showing in that event as a professional.

There are also concerns that Woods could miss the Ryder Cup which takes place at Gleneagles in Scotland next month.

Woods aggravated a previous back injury during his final round at Firestone Country Club on Sunday forcing him to pull out ©Getty Images



Meanwhile, McIlroy continued his fine form by claiming the win at the Firestone Country Club in Akron finishing on 15-under par, two shots clear of Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

The Northern Irishman had also finished two shots ahead of Garcia at Royal Liverpool to claim his third career major.

Sunday's win saw the 25-year-old overtake Australian Adam Scott at the top of the world rankings, but that it is not something that overly concerns McIlroy who says his focus is on winning tournaments and not gathering ranking points.

"It's a nice title and a nice honour to have but I don't think you should go into tournaments thinking about it," said McIlroy, who is chasing his second USPGA title after winning at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina in 2012.

"You just try to win golf tournaments and my goal between now and the end of the year is to win as many tournaments as I can, not to finish number one in the world."

Rory McIlroy goes into the USPGA Championship on the back of two consecutive wins
©Getty Images



McIlroy heads a strong European challenge at this year's Championship and is one of four Europeans currently in the world's top five including Garcia, Henrik Stenson of Sweden and England's Justin Rose.

US Open champion Martin Kaymer of Germany and American Bubba Watson, who won the US Masters in April, are this year's other major champions and Watson and Woods are joined by Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk as the other US players ranked in the world's top 10.

This will be the 96th edition of the USPGA Championship which was won by American Jason Dufner at Oak Hill Country Club in New York last year.

It will be the third time the par-71 Jack Nicklaus-designed course at Valhalla, which also hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup, will stage the Championship after wins for American Mark Brooks in 1996 and Woods in 2000.

The tournament takes place from Thursday (August 7) to Sunday (August 10).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
July 2014: McIlroy secures first Open Championship win and third major with two-shot victory at Royal Liverpool
June 2014: German Kaymer seals US Open title to join Langer in record books
June 2014: Woods bags MuscleParm as new sponsor
April 2014: Bubba bags second Masters title with three-shot victory at Augusta
July 2013: Mickelson produces superb final round to become Open champion at Muirfield