Rory McIlroy fan injured in Atlanta lightning strike speaks out

The Tour Championship was set up to be a thrilling tournament and the first of its kind under the new FedEx Cup format. Rory McIlroy went on to win the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake, but play was suspended over the weekend due to some pretty scary weather conditions.

Severe lightning struck down from the sky in Atlanta, causing injuries to multiple spectators, including a teenager from Northern Ireland, who has now recovered and shed some light over his experience.

Ryan Murphy, from County Tyrone, was following fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy in his quest to claim a second FedEx Cup. Murphy was under a tree during the lightning when he was struck by what is believed to have been debris, knocking the 19 year old unconscious.

Once Murphy regained consciousness, he tried communicating to those around him, but no one could understand what he was saying.

"I was walking across. It just happened, the lightning struck," Murphy told Irish state broadcaster RTÉ.

"I remember falling to the ground. When I woke up I was just surrounded by people.

"I had no identification on me, so they were trying to figure out who I was and where I was from. I don't know whether it was the accent."

Murphy had been staying in the US while he worked at a summer camp, but his trip to East Lake had been planned for over a year.

The teenager spent hours hospitalised and was then allowed to leave and return to his hotel on Sunday. Murphy is now comfortably back in his hometown in Cookstown.

(Images courtesy of RTE and Reuters)