ATLANTA — Rory McIlroy had a much more prolonged warmup Friday, as opposed to the short-range session he had before his opening round Thursday.
Rory McIlroy’s ‘cold plunge’ treatment amid back injury breeds hope for Tour Championship defense
Rory McIlroy received treatment Friday morning ahead of the second round of the Tour Championship, while also having a longer warmup.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
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.
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.
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.
