ATLANTA — Rory McIlroy had a much more prolonged warmup Friday, as opposed to the short-range session he had before his opening round Thursday.
He hit nearly 75 shots, which included wedges, short irons, long irons, woods, and driver. He also spent ample time chipping and hitting bunker shots in the practice area.
It was a full practice session.
Rory had a much more prolonged practice session today. Hit at least 60 balls. Maybe 75.
Hit wedges, long irons, woods and driver.
Back does not seem to be better; took a few breaks to stretch it out, but it doesn’t appear worse.#TourChampionship @_PlayingThrough
— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) August 25, 2023
McIlroy showed no signs of pain on the range either. He did not grimace; instead, after hitting about six or eight shots, he would pause, stretch out the lower right side of his back, and resume his warmup.
Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel also reported that the pain did not ‘feel worse’ Friday after receiving a ‘cold plunge.’ However, his back does not feel significantly better either.
@McIlroyRory is about to tee off for round two of The @TOURChamp. Had treatment and a cold plunge this morning. Back is not worse than Thursday but not significantly better. Wearing quite a bit of tape to support his back.
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) August 25, 2023
News of McIlroy’s back issues broke Thursday morning, just hours before his scheduled tee time.
Some wondered if McIlroy would even play.
But after carding an even-par round of 70 Thursday, McIlroy indicated he never considered withdrawing. He also revealed during his post-round session with the media that it was a ‘foam-roll spasm.’
He injured his back while playing with his daughter earlier in the week in Jupiter, Florida. He further aggravated while working out on Wednesday.
Yet, despite the injury, he powered through his opening round, carding four birdies on the back-nine to stay in contention at the Tour Championship.
He began his second round Friday alongside Matthew Fitzpatrick at 1:27 p.m. ET.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
