Golf: McIlroy puts up with pain to keep swing

DESPITE some more back trouble, Rory McIlroy's swing has taken him into the world's top ten – and he has no intention of changing it .

The 20-year-old went for a scan last week after suffering a recurrence of his problem in Dubai and has been having treatment in Arizona prior to the start of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship tomorrow.

Stretched ligaments have been diagnosed and it has been linked to a hip movement McIlroy makes, but it is just something he is going to have to manage.

"I can't change. I've done this since I was two years old," said the Northern Irish youngster, who opens his first event as a US Tour member against American Kevin Na.

"I only do it with my driver and longer clubs. It doesn't happen with, say, five-iron onwards.

"This is fine compared to what it used to be. I remember the summer before the (2007] Walker Cup it was really bad.

"It comes and goes. If I play a couple of weeks in a row it's fine. Three and I can feel it a little bit. The fourth week it starts to hurt.

"In the motion of swinging a club it's fine, but it's like picking the ball out of the hole and teeing the ball up and stuff."

Draw (seeded positions in brackets): (1) Steve Stricker v (64) Ross McGowan; (32) Ryo Ishikawa v (33) Michael Sim; (16) Robert Karlsson v (49) Rory Sabbatini; (17) Ross Fisher v (48) Thongchai Jaidee; (8) Padraig Harrington v (57) Jeev Milkha Singh; (25) Anthony Kim v (40) Matt Kuchar; (9) Ian Poulter v (56) Justin Leonard; (24) Angel Cabrera v (41) Adam Scott (4) Martin Kaymer v (61) Chad Campbell; (29) Vijay Singh v (36) Tim Clark; (13) Sergio Garcia v (52) David Toms; (20) Lucas Glover v (45) Anders Hansen; (5) Rory McIlroy v (60) Kevin Na; (28) Miguel Angel Jimenez v (37) Oliver Wilson; (12) Robert Allenby v (53) Peter Hanson; (21) Luke Donald v (44) Graeme McDowell (2) Lee Westwood v (63) Chris Wood; (31) Nick Watney v (34) Yuta Ikeda; (15) Ernie Els v (50) Ryan Moore; (18) Retief Goosen v (47) Soren Hansen; (7) Henrik Stenson v (58) Ben Crane; (26) YE Yang v (39) Soren Kjeldsen; (10) Geoff Ogilvy v (55) Alex Noren; (23) Camilo Villegas v (42) Dustin Johnson (3) Jim Furyk v (62) Scott Verplank; (30) Hunter Mahan v (35) Charl Schwartzel; (14) Sean O'Hair v (51) Simon Dyson; (19) Stewart Cink v (46) Edoardo Molinari; (6) Paul Casey v (59) Stephen Ames; (27) Alvaro Quiros v (38) Mike Weir; (11) Kenny Perry v (54) Brian Gay; (22) Zach Johnson v (43) Francesco Molinari.