Four-Ball: Rory McIlroy's injury puts Open title defense in doubt

— -- With the Monday morning news of a ruptured ligament in his ankle, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy's chances of defending his Open Championship title appear slim.

And with his unprecedented chance at the Grand Slam continuing next week at St. Andrews, is Jordan Spieth making the best choice by playing this week's John Deere Classic?

Our scribes weigh in on those topics and more in this week's edition of Monday Four-Ball.

1. Without knowing the full extent of Rory McIlroy's injury, what kind of an impact might this have on his season going forward?

SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman: Anything that is considered ruptured is not good. This will be at least a six-month to a year injury if indeed it's a full rehab. Rory will fall out of the top 10 before he is back on the course. I know this isn't the way Jordan Spieth wants to get to No. 1, but he will take it. This goes back to the same old argument: You cannot take these types of chances. Sacrifices have to made, and not playing with your "mates" when you are No. 1 in the world is one of those sacrifices.

ESPN.com senior golf analyst Michael Collins: If he makes the mistake that most injured golfers do and comes back too early, it will seriously affect his ability to contend in tournaments, because of the bad habits he'll develop trying to protect an injury that isn't 100 percent healed. If he allows himself to get 100 percent healed, even if that means staying out for months, he will come back just as good and maybe even hungrier.

ESPN.com senior golf writer Bob Harig: It has the potential to ruin it, unfortunately. This is such a big time of the year for all the players, but especially the No. 1-ranked McIlroy, who was set to defend two major titles as well as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He could now miss all three, or at the very least be impacted by his injury in those tournaments. Nobody would have been surprised to see him win any of those events, or contend in the FedEx Cup playoffs, or defend his Race to Dubai title on the European Tour. It's all in doubt now.

ESPN.com senior golf writer Jason Sobel: My personal Hot Take Machine is stuck between "Stick a fork in him!" and "Beware the injured golfer!" In all seriousness, I hate speculating on this type of stuff. McIlroy himself has no idea how his ankle will react to rest and rehab. It's foolish to think that anyone else will know any better.

2. Thumbs up or thumbs down to Jordan Spieth's decision to play this week's John Deere Classic?

Coachman: Any other year I would be all for Jordan Spieth respecting the tournament where he got his first win. The problem is that this year is unique. A chance to win the first three majors of the year is special. I think he should try to acclimate himself because he doesn't have a lot of experience in links golf or at St. Andrews. But so far everything this year has turned to gold for Spieth. Who am I to question his schedule?

Collins: I am so torn about this, but when it comes down to it, thumbs up. By not playing in the John Deere, he would have a much better chance of winning the third leg of the Grand Slam. But Spieth always has been about doing the right thing. Going back to honor the event that gave him a sponsor invite is the right thing to do. If that means giving up his best chance to win the Open Championship, so be it.

Harig: Thumbs up. It seems like a bad idea, as Spieth has but a single round of experience at St. Andrews. But in a strange way, perhaps staying true to his schedule is a good move. While he'll undoubtedly get a million questions this week about the Grand Slam, perhaps competing instead of focusing so much on the Open will do him some good. And he's proved himself to be a fast learner, as he will need to be at the Old Course.

Sobel: Thumbs way up. This has less to do with Spieth as a golfer and more to do with him as a person. Maybe spending the week in Silvis, Illinois, isn't the best way to prepare for the Open Championship, but he's honoring a commitment that he made well before winning the second of his two major titles. He might not get as much practice time on the famed links as other players, but the golf gods have a unique way of smiling down upon those who make the right decisions.

3. What does Tiger's latest performance mean for his chances at the upcoming Open Championship?

Coachman: I am very encouraged by Tiger's performance last week -- especially his play on Sunday. That was the most stress-free round I have seen from him in years. If he can start making putts at St. Andrews and keep the fluid swing that he had at the Greenbrier, I think he could shock a lot of people who have already written him off.

Collins: It means the same thing as before he played. He isn't winning. It does mean now that if he gets on the correct side of the weather draw, he'll have a better chance of making the cut and maybe sneaking in the top 30. But for those looking for Tiger to win major No. 15 at St. Andrews, you're delusional.

Harig: It is difficult to say it will mean much. Greenbrier was a soft golf course. The Old Course will be firm and fast, meaning it is harder to keep the ball in the fairway and on the greens. Certainly the way he hit more fairways and greens at the Greenbrier should be a boost to his confidence, and the strides he made since the U.S. Open were huge. But can he contend? That still seems a big ask at this point.

Sobel: Wedged around Woods' buzzword bingo terminology of "baseline shifting" and "patterns" and "feels" has been his constant cautionary rationale that we should be patient with his performance. Too often, we get too high or too low with our expectations of his game. When he was playing terribly, many expected him to never come back; now that he has shown marked signs of improvement, many will expect him to contend. Let's listen to him, though. Practice some patience. He's improving, but he's not all the way there yet.

4. Now that we're well into the second wraparound season, are the smaller tournaments like the Greenbrier Classic getting hurt by the new schedule format?

Coachman: I don't think there is any question that the wraparound schedule is hurting certain tournaments. Players want to be in position for the FedEx Cup playoffs, and if they are in position by now, it allows them to rest before the big stretch starting with the Open Championship. And I guess I don't blame them. It's all about the title and the $10 million -- not a single PGA Tour title.

Collins: Yes. Let's be honest: Does anyone think Jim Justice was excited to see the leaderboard going into the weekend? We're now finding out the same thing we figured when the PGA Tour announced the new schedule format. The smaller-level tournaments are not going to get the big names and the big-level tournaments aren't going to give the "little guy" a chance to play. This wraparound schedule reinforces that.

Harig: There's no question tournaments are affected, not so much because of the wraparound schedule, but because of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Starting with the Open, the top players who make it to the Tour Championship are looking at seven tournaments in 11 weeks. Anyone who adds the Canadian Open or the Quicken Loans National or the Wyndham Championship makes it even more daunting. It is a busy stretch that crams in a ton of golf, and there some tournaments that are bound to suffer along the way.

Sobel: If you build it, they will come. OK, so "they" might not refer to all of the world's best players, but we could still easily enjoy the dramatics and memories and images of a fun event without some of the biggest names. We're just coming off a final round in which we saw  Robert Streb take the golf world by storm when he started raining in putts with a wedge, in addition to the emergence of budding star Danny Lee, whose dry one-liners could make him a fan favorite. With better players in the field, those stories might not have taken form.