If you want to hear Rory McIlroy get his back up, bring up a theory about, well, his back.
“To put it solely on that is preposterous. No.”
That was McIlroy’s blunt response to The Palm Beach Post when asked about speculation linking a recent cluster of back injuries on the PGA Tour to players’ involvement in TGL, the indoor-simulator league he helped launch with Tiger Woods.
McIlroy was part of that cluster himself, withdrawing ahead of the third round of last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational with a balky back that also delayed his arrival at TPC Sawgrass for this week’s Players Championship.
The theory started swirling on social media after another big name, Collin Morikawa, withdrew from the Players after tweaking his back on the second hole of his first round. That one-two punch of two of the game’s biggest names proved irresistible to internet sleuths and self-appointed medical experts, who expanded on their diagnosis by pointing to recent back and neck trouble among other TGL participants, including Sahith Theegala, Billy Horschel and Justin Thomas.
The thinking: TGL adds another competitive layer to already packed schedules. The league also unfolds in a simulator environment, where players hit into a massive screen and ball speed appears instantly for fans. Some have suggested that those digital displays inspire players to swing out of their shoes.
McIlroy says the numbers don’t support it.
“My ball speed on Tour is way faster than it is in TGL,” he said.
Billy Horschel also shot down the notion on X when Monday Q Info’s Ryan French initially brought up the idea that TGL is playing a role in the spate of back injuries on Tour.
TGL — which operates out of the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — features six four-player teams across a 15-match regular season, each team playing five matches, followed by playoffs. Matches run early in the week alongside the regular Tour schedule. McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf Club is among those in contention as the playoffs begin on March 17.
Faced with uncertainty about his back, McIlroy waited until Thursday morning before deciding to tee it up at TPC Sawgrass. He opened with a 74, then followed that with a 71 on Friday to finish just inside the cut line.
Back trouble on Tour is hardly new. Generations of players, from Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins to Tiger Woods, have dealt with them. Pinpointing a single cause is a slippery business. But many observers, including longtime Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, have argued that the modern swing’s emphasis on speed and distance is part of the problem.
