Duval: McIlroy 'needs to stop playing right now' to save game

Rory McIlroy's week at 2017 PGA Championship hasn't been successful, but it also hasn't been dull either.

McIlroy said Saturday after a third-round 73 at the PGA Championship that he's "looking forward to 2018," but there's still the FedEx Cup playoffs to deal with - a series he won last season on the PGA Tour.

"We'll see where we go from here," McIlroy told reporters. "I'll play tomorrow and assess my options for the rest of the year. I've still got a few big tournaments left, so it's a question of whether I play in all of them or take some time off to get 100 percent healthy."

The 2017 campaign has been interesting for the Northern Irishman, beginning with a rib injury in January, which kept him out for two significant periods of time this year.

David Duval of the Golf Channel believes McIlroy should skip the playoffs and shut it down until he heals from his injury.

"He needs to go home. He needs to stop playing right now," Duval said Sunday while McIlroy warmed up for the final round. "He's hurt, and I'm watching his golf swing golf deteriorate in the process."

Duval was once the world's No. 1 player, winning 20 career PGA Tour titles - including the 2001 Open Championship, but injuries derailed his career. As such, the comments toward McIlroy is advice he wish he'd given himself when he continued to play through pain.

"If I could go back and tell myself 15-18 years ago when I started having those problems to stop, get healthy. He could do himself a big service," Duval added.