Rory McIlroy has dismissed comments about the potential risk of injury from his current intense training regime.
The world No 3 has regularly used heavy weights since switching his routine to prevent injury six years ago, in an attempt to try and prevent injury.
Veteran golfer Brandel Chamblee questioned whether McIlroy risked facing similar back problems that plagued former world No 1 Tiger Woods by using weights, but the Northern Irishman doesn't share those concerns.
Ahead of the Northern Trust Open, McIlroy said: "I definitely feel like the more I got into exercise and fitness and everything, the better my game became.
"I think from the start of 2011, the direct correlation between leading a healthier lifestyle and my performance on the course was the same
"Obviously I'm trying to be strong, but the whole reason I started this is because I was injured."
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