Did Rory McIlroy injure himself while playing in the pool with his daughter? Real reason behind golfer's Tour Championship injury explored

Rory McIlroy is at the moment playing the 2023 Tour Championship, while injured. The Irish golfer was seen in discomfort on Thursday at the East Lake. However, the 34-year-old chose against revealing the reason behind his injury, until now.

McIlroy on Thursday revealed that he injured himself while working out. According to several reports, the golfer was doing squats when his lower back spasmed and seized up. However, McIlroy told Sky Sports on-course reporter Wayne Riley that he’d first experienced the injury after he threw his young daughter, Poppy, in a pool on Monday.

Riley said in a Sky Sports story, as told to him by Rory McIlroy, via GOLF:

“He (McIlroy) was throwing her around like we do with our children and just pulled a little thing.”

Unfortunately, this was only the start of the injury. McIlroy on Thursday looked in a lot of pain. The golfer, who managed to finish T7 at the end of Tour Championship Day 1. The PGA Tour star, who received treatment at various points in the day, later termed the injury a muscle spasm.

Speaking about the injury, McIlroy said on Thursday:

“So I think when I play a lot of golf, especially the end of the season, I always have to manage my right side. My right side always gets pretty tight, my rib cage, intercostals, lats, like, all the way down, right hip.

On Tuesday morning, I felt a little tight, and I went into my gym at home, and I just sort of foam-rolled and stretched. I went to grab something and my whole right side just completely seized up, spasm. So, I spent two hours with the physio at home, flew up here, felt a little better, some treatment, then Wednesday morning still my right side was feeling better and then went into the gym just to do some movements and stuff.”

Rory McIlroy further explained that he was “at the bottom of a body-weight squat” when his whole lower back spasmed and seized up. McIlroy explained that he couldn’t move and needed treatment.

Emphasizing the severity of the injury, the four-time major champion noted that he feels “over the moon” about starting the FedEx Cup Playoffs final event.

---

Did Rory McIlroy plan to withdraw from the Tour Championship?

The Irishman went on to reveal that withdrawal wasn’t an option. Replying to a query on whether he considered withdrawing from the event due to the injury, Rory McIlroy stated that he was “always going to tee off” at the Tour Championship on Thursday.

He said, as quoted by GOLF:

“So I got here really early this morning, like 7:45, so like six hours before my tee time, did cold tub, did everything. I hit 20 wedges by 10 a.m. which is the first balls I’ve hit since Chicago [last week]. I felt OK, so then just thought I would give it a go.

I was always going to tee off. It was just a matter of how I felt on the course. And it got progressively a little tighter as I went, but it will hopefully get loosened up here and just another 20 — or 18 hours of recovery and go again tomorrow.”

It is pertinent to note that Rory McIlroy sat T7 at the FedEx Cup’s winner-deciding event. The defending champion will be considering pushing on with the injury eyeing the whopping $18 million prize purse.