Rory McIlroy shocks golf fans at Tour Championship: "F right off!"

An injured Rory McIlroy shocked golf fans with a gigantic drive during the third round of the PGA Tour's season finale at East Lake.

Rory McIlroy shocks golf fans at Tour Championship: "F right off!"
Rory McIlroy shocks golf fans at Tour Championship: "F right off!"

An injured Rory McIlroy shocked golf fans by hitting a drive 393 yards during the third round of the Tour Championship at East Lake.

McIlroy, 34, revealed at the start of the week he felt a tweak in his back after he enjoyed a splash in the swimming pool with daughter Poppy. 

His back went into spasm when he stretched and foam rolled. 

And it left him unable to address the ball until the morning he was due to play the PGA Tour's $75m season finale. 

Over the first two days' play McIlroy has looked in visible discomfort and later explained in detail what he can and cannot do. 

That didn't stop him from doing this, though. McIlroy's gigantic drive arrived on No. 14. 

Watch:

Here's how some golf fans reacted:

McIlroy was in the middle of a frustrating round, carding three birdies and two bogeys to this point. 

Play was suspended at 5.30pm during the third round for inclement weather. 

It looks as though McIlroy will not be winning a record fourth FedEx Cup title in 2023. 

At 20-under par, Viktor Hovland holds a six-shot lead over American Xander Schauffele after the third round. 

McIlroy is 11 strokes back of the Norwegian. 

Elsewhere the problems with the flat stick continue for World No.1 Scottie Scheffler.

He had a poor first round, rebounded on day two but was struggling to keep up with Hovland's pace on Saturday. He’s nine back on 11-under par.

What has Rory McIlroy said about his injury?

"I can't hit the ball left-to-right and -- yeah, I can't swing my irons the way I want to. I can't turn my right side through the ball. So from the top of the swing I'm just sort of throwing my arms at it and it's a lot of face rotation and I can only really hit it one way with the irons.
"I can't hit the driver the way I usually do. Like, teeing it up I'm teeing it down and just hitting a sort of flat little runner down there. So, yeah, look, a little limited to the shots that I can hit, but I'm getting by."

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