Rory Pushes Back Against Critics of His Fitness Routine

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Four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy has a reputation for being one of the fittest guys on Tour. While many professional golfers are aerobically fit, not many spend as much time sculpting their body as Rory, who has engaged in challenging weightlifting regimens for years.

His penchant for bodybuilding has received applause from most, but criticism from others, who believe he is setting himself up for more injuries, with Tiger Woods used as the primary example.

On Wednesday at the Travelers Championship, Rory told reporters that he has not been able to lift in 2017, which he has missed several stretches of due to a rib injury.


Bullets

  • Rory McIlroy is well-known for spending extensive time in the gym, which has occasionally drawn criticism.
  • The Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee was especially critical in 2016, which led to a twitter spat between the two.
  • Additionally, last season NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller claimed that Rory had overdone it in “the weight room,” and gets carried away with “wearing the tight shirts and showing off” his muscles.
  • Rory claims that, due to the rib injury that has cost him considerable time this season, both in the U.S. and in Europe, he has not been able to lift more than 15lbs in the gym, which he only did for rehab purposes. He says that the time away has drained his strength, although he does not expect that to hurt his golf game.
  • McIlroy is coming off two consecutive disappointing results, finishing T35 at THE PLAYERS, and missing the cut by four strokes at the U.S. Open.

Quotable

“Honestly, I haven’t lifted a weight all year, and it’s tough for me to come out and sort of say I don’t. But I literally have — the most I’ve lifted in the gym is 15 pounds this year because of my injury. I’m nowhere near as strong as I used to be. I’m not. But I don’t need to be. I feel like physically if I’m stable and I’m strong in the right areas, I’m okay…So at least I can’t be criticized for that this year.”
Rory McIlroy


Credit: Getty Images


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