Perhaps Rory McIlroy’s luck is changing. In his first round since losing the Irish Open in agony last Sunday, the world No. 3 watched in disbelief as he hit an approach shot to seven feet – but only after the head of his nine-iron had flown down the fairway.
It’s safe to say it was an eventful opening morning at the BMW PGA Championship for the Northern Irishman, who attempted to shake off a series of close misses and win for the fourth time this season.
After seeing his challenge at Royal County Down fail in heartbreaking fashion – he had led by two points with four remaining before Rasmus Hojgaard made the most of a couple of big breaks to pass him on the line – McIlroy said he was “getting used to” falling short.
In June, he bogeyed three of his last four matches at the US Open and handed the trophy to Bryson DeChambeau, dubbing himself “The Nearly Man.” Of course, three titles in a calendar year is a feat for the average pro. Still, there’s nothing average about the 35-year-old as he continued to emphasize his box office credentials.
A five-under 67 in the DP World Tour’s flagship event on the famed West Course put McIlroy in contention, with seven birdies and two bogeys. But as always with McIlroy, the scorecard numbers didn’t do the drama justice.
His first dropped stroke came on a missed three-footer on the seventh hole, but on the next hole he was forced to play a putt with the back of his putter because his ball was on the edge of the water. The highlights kept rolling until the last one, when he hit his second out of bounds.
Besides a 40-footer on the 13th to take the outright lead, there was a remarkable recovery shot from the heather on the 11th. But it was what happened on the par-five in between that was destined to go viral.
After a 332-yard drive — standard for McIlroy — he found himself in the middle of the fairway with 179 yards to go. In the past few months, he’s thrown a three-wood into a lake and snapped a driver in half when he put too much weight on the club as he reached for his tee.
But this was a new one, even for him, who looked stunned as the head of his club snapped off and spiraled 20 yards away. By then his ball had bounced off a bank to within seven feet. McIlroy missed the eagle putt.
“I don’t think it’s ever happened to me before,” he said. “It was a really strange feeling. I looked up and the club head hit my eye instead of the ball. Luckily it went where I wanted it to. It could have been a lot worse, but thankfully it’s been repaired and should be fine tomorrow.”
McIlroy believes the change in climate has caused the club’s weakness. Last month he played in the heat of Memphis and Atlanta, a contrast to Co. Antrim and Surrey in the autumn.
It’s still an inexplicable situation, though, and one that McIlroy, fortunately for TaylorMade, found humor in. He laughed when it was suggested to him that people would think McIlroy could afford sets that don’t fall apart. “Hey, I get paid to play sets that don’t fall apart!” he replied. “Yeah, it was just one of those things. I hit a nine-iron on the ninth and it looked like the barrel came loose, but most of the incidents worked out in my favor. So I’m happy about that.”
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