Rory McIlroy was involved in a bizarre moment during Saturday’s Open Championship action at Royal Portrush, with the Masters champion having somehow unearthed a second ball while taking a shot. McIlroy was chasing leaders Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick at the start of day three as he looked to claw himself back into the mix following a steady couple of opening rounds.
The strange situation occurred on the 11th hole when McIlroy had found himself in a bit of rough following a wayward tee shot. McIlroy had no issues with pinging his actual ball back onto the fairway, but the local hero was left stunned when a second ball popped out of the rough.
It took a while for McIlroy and the fans gathered around him to figure out what actually happened, but it quickly became clear that a hidden ball had been lurking underneath the grass. Unsurprisingly, the commentators on Sky Sports were left scratching their heads, with several replays needed to distinguish exactly what happened.
Reacting to the unusual occurrence, Nick Faldo said: “Oh my goodness, there was a ball underneath his, the things you see. That’s got to be a right, hasn’t it? It doesn’t count as two shots? What are the odds on that? A member’s ball, that is unbelievable. Boink.”
The commentary team later confirmed that the R&A officials at the Northern Irish course would take a look at the incident, clarify the rules and make sure no penalties need to be adminstered. It’s already been a week of controversy, with McIlroy’s good friend Shane Lowry having been given a controversial two-shot penalty.
Television cameras picked up the slightest of ball movements during a practice swing from the Irishman, who firmly denied having noticed it at the time, but accepted the penalty to avoid being “called a cheat”. He said: “The last thing I want to do is sit there and argue and not take the penalty and then get slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat.
“I’m disappointed that they don’t have more camera angles on it. The one zoomed in slow motion – they’re trying to tell me if it doesn’t move from the naked eye, if you don’t see it moving, it didn’t move. I told them I definitely was looking down towards the ball as I was taking that practice swing, and I didn’t see it move.”
McIlroy remains in contention for a second-ever Open victory, having last won the Claret Jug in 2014. He’ll likely have to get past world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and English ace Matt Fitzpatrick if he’s to achieve yet another dream this year by winning The Open on home soil.