Moments After a Hot Start at $75,000,000 Event, Rory McIlroy Makes a Painful Confession: ‘I Couldn’t Move’

Rory McIlroy is one of the top contenders for the FedEx Cup, and fans have been highly expecting his performance at the Tour Championship. Starting the tournament off with an allotted seven-under lead, McIlroy did pretty well in the first round. However, it is not his score that has caught all attention now, but something else. 

In the post-round conference, McIlroy mentioned something about his physical condition that has caused concern about his health. He spoke about how he has been struggling for the past few days. He said he was glad he played how he did in the first round.

A tight right slows McIlroy down

After feeling a little tight on Tuesday morning, Rory McIlroy spent some time at the gym, doing a bit of stretching. He explained how it had happened to him before. “My right side always gets pretty tight, my rib cage, intercostals, lats, like, all the way down, right hip.”

The time at the gym probably didn’t help, because McIlroy shared how he suffered a seizure on his right side, because of a spasm. After some physio at home, he flew over to the East Lake Golf Club for the Tour Championship.

While he felt better on Wednesday morning, he had an incident at the gym again. “I was at the bottom of a squat, a body-weight squat, and my whole lower back spasmed, seized up. I couldn’t move.” He confessed how he could not address the ball the previous day.

Responding to a question about whether he considered a withdrawal, McIlroy clarified he was always going to tee off. He admitted he got “progressively a little tighter” and was hopeful about recovering before round two. The four-time major winner assured it was only his spasm, causing him discomfort.

Read more: With Rory McIlroy and 2 Others Already on Board, Former World No. 1 Faces a Herculean Ryder Cup Challenge: ‘A Lot To Digest’

Who stands where on the leaderboard

McIlroy scored a par at the end of round one and combined with the allotted seven-under lead, his total score is 7-under. He now shares the seventh position with Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm, who scored a 3-under and a 1-under, respectively, besides their allotted leads.

At the top of the table, with a 10-under score, stand Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, and Viktor Hovland. Besides their allotted leads, Morikawa scored a 9-under, Bradley scored a 7-under, and Hovland scored a 2-under in the first round, adding up to a 10-under. 

Scottie Scheffler stands at number four, with a 9-under. His score is a total of his 1-over in the first round, and his 8-under lead. Sharing the fifth position are Adam Schenk and Russell Henley, with ‌8-under, which includes their allotted score leads of one and three, respectively.  

Do you think the tightness on his right side will negate McIlroy’s chances at bagging the FedEx Cup? At what position do you think he will finish the tournament? Let us know in the comments.

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