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Jeeze, I’m sorry. I’ve heard “wrist-reward,” “Rory’s Last Shot” and all the other puns on the wrist thing, but in writing the post this just came to me. I’m not proud, but it is what it is. And at least it’s original. I think.

On just the third hole of his PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy was faced with a dilemma after his drive came to rest in front of a tree root. In search of his second major championship in two months, McIlroy was the betting favorite entering Glory’s Last Shot, but he nearly took the smart money off with one dumb decision.

Rather than chip out, take his medicine, make a bogey and use the last 69 holes of the championship to try and pick up that one stroke, McIlroy chose to punch a 7-iron and try to release the club right after contact.

“I thought if I could make contact with the ball and just let the club go, I might get away with it,” McIlroy said.

He didn’t.

Immediately after letting the club fly following impact, McIlroy flexed his right wrist in obvious pain. He had only advanced the ball further up the left rough and put himself in danger of having to withdraw from the tournament.

Some are commending him on making the call to go after it, calling it bold and placing McIlroy in his already christened place atop the world of golf, but in actuality, it was a truly bullish move that could have cost him not only the championship, but a chunk of his career.

The list of players hampered by wrist injuries is not short. Scott Verplank, Aaron Oberholser  and Luke Donald have all struggled with wrist injuries recently and know it’s nothing to mess with.

Others are blaming the decision on his age, but in the next breath they’ll tell you how mature he is for his age.

McIlroy received treatment from two different physical therapists during his round and after getting some professional opinions on the injury, McIlroy decided that he could tough out the pain and finish his round.

What ensued was truly amazing. One-handed swings to tough pins that turned the best player of his generation into a bumbling everyman. McIlroy made it around in even-par 70 with a taped up right arm that brought the thought of a boxer to nearly everyone on television or with a Twitter account.

Following his round, McIlroy answered a few questions and went to get an MRI. His management firm, ISM released a statement detailing McIlroy’s plans for Friday’s round.

“The initial diagnosis shows Rory has a strained tendon in his right wrist. He will obviously rest it tonight and he will see how it feels in the morning on the range.”

The range could be tricky. If it’s the same as today, McIlroy said he would play, but if it is indeed in the same shape as today, how many balls should he really hit that aren’t being counted?

While it’s admirable to see a player want to compete for another major even when dealing with an injury, there won’t be any calls of BS if McIlroy were to hang up the sticks for a few months.

If Wee Mac is able to play through the pain and get into contention, it could be a story that would be compared to Tiger Woods’ 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. As if they aren’t compared enough already.

Sadly, I don’t see McIlroy having what it takes to win if come Sunday he’s in the hunt. The focus would need to be wholly on his game and with an injured wrist, it seems he would be distracted at some point in the round.

While it surely puts a wrench in the bid for the Chubby Slam and his second major championship, McIlroy is resilient and will probably play through the weekend before shutting it down to heal.

The only down side is that the whole situation could have been avoided with only one stroke as the cost.