RORY: I'LL WALK OFF BEFORE I'M EMBARRASSED

RORY MCILROY insists he’s "very happy" to step aside for a new era of stars while he still has “a little bit left in the tank”.

- Neil McLeman

The world No.2 will tee up at the $25m Players Championship today after admitting the latest injury set-back to his friend Tiger Woods “sucks”.

The American superstar, who turns 50 this year, has undergone surgery after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in training and faces a battle to return.

McIlroy, now 35, will launch his 11th bid to seal a career Grand Slam at the Masters next month.

And talk of Tiger led to questions about how the Ulsterman envisaged the end of his own career.