Rory McIlroy’s green jacket defense appears to be a bit up in the air.

The reigning Masters winner was forced to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday after suffering back spasms during his range session.

“While warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a small twinge in my back. As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back,” McIlroy said. 

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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his tee shot on the 14th hole during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge on March 6, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

“Unfortunately, I’m not able to continue and have to withdraw. I was excited to compete this weekend. I wish the Arnold Palmer Invitational a great finish and look forward to being back next year.”

McIlroy finally took home the green jacket in his 17th try last year — it was his first major since 2014, and it made him the sixth golfer to complete the career slam. It was a weekend full of ups and downs, as he set the Masters record for the most “3s” carded, but he had plenty of dropped shots throughout.

Ultimately, he prevailed in a playoff against Justin Rose, who also fell to Sergio Garcia in a playoff eight years prior.

Rory McIlroy holds the Masters championship trophy during the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)

The last time someone did not play in the Masters the year after winning it was 1954, when Ben Hogan sat out.

McIlroy finished tied for second in last month’s Genesis Invitational, won by Jacob Bridgeman, and tied for 14th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a tournament he won last year.

Rory McIlroy watches his tee shot on the third hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)

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The Masters was McIlroy’s third and final victory of the season last year. He also won The Players and was part of the winning Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black. It was the first time a road team won the Cup since the Europeans did so in 2014, and it was the first back-to-back Ryder Cup wins since Europe won three straight in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

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Sarina Wiegman admits England wanted to score more but was satisfied with the 2-0 victory over Iceland which made it back-to-back wins to start their Women’s World Cup qualification campaign.

Lucy Bronze celebrated going third in the all-time Lionesses appearance rankings with her 145th cap by nodding in the opener in a first half which was heavily dominated by the hosts at the City Ground.

Hannah Hampton stopped Sandra Jessen from equalising with Iceland’s only shot of the game on the hour mark before Georgia Stanway volleyed in the second 12 minutes from time to make the points safe.

The Lionesses scored six against Ukraine four days ago in their opening qualifier and England boss Wiegman says she was happy with the camp overall.

She said: “I’m totally not frustrated at the moment, happy with the performance and camp. Two games, six points. I think Iceland is a very disciplined team, lots of power, compact, and very hard to break down.

“We created lots of big chances with very good football. We could’ve scored more, we obviously want that too but the most important thing is we win the game.

“Hannah made a great save which was crucial then we scored. We want to score more goals but the win and clean sheet makes me happy.

“We hope we gave everyone a great afternoon and we entertained them (the fans).

“Overall, I’m happy with the camp. It helps when you get the six points. The team worked really hard on the pitch improving as a team and as individuals.”

Bronze moved above Karen Carney in the all-time appearance list for England Women and now only has Jill Scott and Fara Williams above her.

Wiegman said of the 34-year-old Bronze: “She’s an incredible human being, her mindset is incredible.

“She has so much football intelligence, at the same time she’s helping her team-mates on the pitch and off the pitch which makes the team play better which is really important.

“She plays a big role in the team. She wants to make the World Cup and as you can see she’s still building minutes. She’s so important because her connection with players and staff is just so good. I hope she keeps moving forward.”

Lauren James proved to be a menace all afternoon down the left for the Iceland defence and got the reward for her performance with a first-half assist.

“First of all, very pleased for her,” Wiegman said. “It looks like she’s enjoying herself and brings us joy too.

“For club and country I hope she can keep doing that and get some consistency because that gives us a lot more joy.

“We all want Lauren to stay fit, build and get consistency in playing minutes. We saw her today at her best.”

Russell Wilson and Breiden Fehoko shared a roster in 2024. Now, the defensive tackle is looking to share a ring with Logan Paul. In a move ripped straight out of “Rocky,” Paul announced a $1 million open bet to any NFL players willing to fight. However, he claimed that “no one” wanted to fight out of the spotlight but still set the venue to be his gym.

Fehoko responded to the post with knives, calling out the fighter on X in a Friday response.

“You put up a challenge, now you moving the goalposts,” he posted. “I’ll whoop your a** in a church parking lot. I don’t even want your money no more stop ducking smoke. I’ll fly out on my own dime to fight you or your clown a** brother. Let’s see how strong that jaw is.”

Of course, as with any pre-fight build-up, there is always a question of whether the beef is real. In this case, if a fight with no spotlight goes down, it will be clear that the beef was real. However, if the fight makes its way into any kind of spotlight, questions will be asked.

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Logan Paul and Le’Veon Bell respond to Breiden Fehoko’s challenge

Breiden Fehoko’s response didn’t take long to cause a reaction. Le’Veon Bell, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2013 to 2017, floated a “2v2” idea that seemingly would pit the brothers against Bell and Fehoko.

“lol let’s go 2v2 them boys 😭,” Bell responded.

Bell has been fighting in his post-NFL life, but the tone of his post suggested he might have been joking. Paul was seemingly much more serious with his response.

“Wait so are you down or not bc it sounds like you don’t have the money. I’ll send you same contract as Le’Veon if you’re in for next weekend,” Paul posted.

The Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher did not respond to Paul in a comment but instead in a quote post for all to see.

“Send it f*** boy,” Fehoko posted.

Of course, with things reaching a new level in the brewing conflict, it could have an effect on his future in the NFL.

Fehoko is set to hit free agency this week after a voided 2025 contract with Pittsburgh, per Spotrac. If he’s publicly picking fights in another athletic setting, it could seal the deal on his exit from the NFL.