Rory McIlroy throws club into water after missed shot
Rory McIlroy was not happy with his tee shot on hole 17 on Friday – and he let it show on his fairway wood.
X: NBC
At the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, the tension seems to be boiling over.
Scottie Scheffler made headlines with an uncharacteristic outburst after misjudging a wedge shot on Friday, and Rory McIlroy also let his frustration out physically, culminating in him throwing his club into the water.
On the par 5 17th hole at Castle Pines, which has to be over water right before the tee, McIlroy opted for a fairway wood shot. The shot flew 260 meters into the rough to the right of the fairway. When two voices shouted “Front right!”, McIlroy broke from his final position and calmly threw his club directly into the water, causing a visible splash.
While simply missing the fairway off the tee doesn’t appear to be a punishable offense for McIlroy’s 3-wood, the broadcast team provided some background. McIlroy just three-putted from 45 feet for a bogey on the previous hole, the par-3 16th – his second bogey of the day. And on the 17th, a reachable par-5, a drive into the rough isn’t ideal if a player wants a good chance at a birdie or better.
As with Scheffler, whose audible outburst on Friday followed a water ball and a misjudged wedge from the drop zone, several factors contributed to McIlroy’s club throw into the water.
Luckily for McIlroy, the club did not completely submerge and was recovered at the water’s edge. After picking up his tee, McIlroy calmly picked up the club and handed it to his caddy. He also managed to finish the hole with par.
With a total score of three under par, McIlroy is ranked T15 at the halfway point of the BMW Championship. Unless his position improves over the next two rounds, he is expected to drop from fifth to eighth in the FedEx Cup points standings ahead of next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake.
