Amid His Ailing Health Struggles, Rory McIlroy Suffers a Major Career Setback at $75M Event

Fan favorite Rory McIlroy entered this week at no. 3 on the FedEx rankings. But his fortune soon took a drastic turn after he wound up with an injury in his lower back earlier this week. And though he continues to play at the $75 million Tour Championship regardless of the lingering pain, it is leaving an impact on his form slowly.

While McIlroy has been trying to hold the fort, his body is telling him otherwise. And despite maintaining a good performance, the Irish golf man suffered a big setback in the tournament on Saturday. Let’s find out more.

Rory McIlroy breaks this season’s impressive record at Tour Championship

The Tour Championship’s favorite child Rory McIlroy had a poor start this week at the event health-wise. Before the first round, he received treatment on the East course and played 20 balls, after which he had to head back for more treatment. However, instead of pulling out, he continued to play.

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After the second round, he said that things were going okay, and he was satisfied with it. “I felt like if I could get through yesterday I was just hoping that each day it would get progressively better”. But the third round went on to ruin a precious record of this season in the making.

However, yesterday in the third round, he made 71 (1 over par) which ruined his record of 30 consecutive rounds under or at par since the Memorial Tournament. Had he been maintaining his under-par streak this week, he could have wrapped the season with an impressive streak.

McIlroy has won three times in the FedEx finals in 2106, 2019, and last year in 2022. This year he was among the top contenders at the event as well.

How did McIlroy hurt his back during this important week?

On Tuesday he was feeling tight, which has happened to him before. “My right side always gets pretty tight, my rib cage, intercostals, lats, like, all the way down, right hip,” he explained. 

And while stretching, he suffered a seizure on the right side due to a spasm. Physiotherapy didn’t help him that day. Then again, on Wednesday, he had an accident. He described, “I was at the bottom of a squat, a body-weight squat, and my whole lower back spasmed, and seized up. I couldn’t move.” But he didn’t consider a withdrawal.

After three rounds full of strenuous efforts, McIlroy held his position in the top ten. But he couldn’t continue his winning streak this year? What do you think? Would he have won had he not faced injury? Or should he have simply withdrawn?

Watch this story – “Spasmed, Seized up”: Shortly after a fiery start at the 75000000 clash Rory McIlroy confesses a painful truth