It's going to take a lot more than back pain to keep Rory McIlroy out of East Lake.
McIlroy is reportedly battling a lower back injury as the 2023 Tour Championship gets underway, the final event of the PGA Tour's 2022-23 season. The Northern Irishman is looking for his fourth career FedEx Cup win and second straight after taking home the honors in 2022 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
The 34-year-old entered the competition ranked No. 3 in the field with a starting strokes mark of 7 under. However, he was unable to improve upon that number as he played through pain on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Rory McIlroy suffered a lower back injury at home.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 24, 2023
He’s still set to tee it up @TOURChamp.
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The Sporting News has the latest news and updates on McIlroy's injury at the Tour Championship.
Rory McIlroy injury update
According to Golf Channel's Todd Lewis, McIlroy suffered a lower back injury while at home this week prior to the start of the Tour Championship.
Earlier this week @McIlroyRory injured his lower back. It’s a muscular issue. This morning he arrived at East Lake, received treatment, and hit 20 ball which was the first time he hit balls this week. He will tee it up today for @TOURChamp but may have discomfort.
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) August 24, 2023
"I've been able to focus a little bit more just on golf and my game and even able to take two days at home between Chicago and here, getting to spend some time with the girls," McIlroy said during his press conference on Wednesday.
It was clear that McIlroy was in pain. It began while he was on the range, as he appeared to be dealing with discomfort on seemingly every swing.
Rory McIlroy working through the discomfort on the range @TOURChamp. pic.twitter.com/raeImLEotf
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 24, 2023
Still, the injury did not keep McIlroy out of competing at the start of the tournament, as he teed off on Thursday with Jon Rahm. However, it was obvious that McIlroy was not operating at 100%. His swing speed was noticeably slower during the round and some of his shots had a lower trajectory as a result.
You can see @McIlroyRory is swinging a bit defensively because of his injured back. His swing speed is slower and may be a club shorter today for round one of The @TOURChamp.
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) August 24, 2023
McIlroy also dropped his club several times after swings throughout play on Thursday and was seen stretching his back out while waiting to play at one of the tees.
Even despite the ailment, he shot even par in Round 1 on Thursday, putting him a tie for seventh with Matt Fitzpatrick and Rahm. That puts him three shots off the 10-under lead shared by Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley.