Rory McIlroy engaged himself in a long conversation regarding a penalty drop mishap with his playing partners, Viktor Hovland, and Jordan Spieth, during the Thursday round at the Players Championship. He started the event brilliantly by shooting 65 and sitting atop the leaderboard alongside Xander Schauffele.
However, his round didn’t pass without drama. McIlroy found himself entangled in a debate for the 7th and 18th holes due to water hazards. On both occasions, there was a lot of talk regarding whether his ball bounced inside the boundary before plunging into the water. Especially the penalty drop on the 7th, which shows a double-bogey score on the leaderboard, involved Spieth, who claimed that the TV people saw the ball going into the water. But, McIlroy didn’t agree with Spieth and later spoke in a press conference after the round about the whole fiasco.
Rory McIlroy Gives His Verdict On The Penalty Drop On Hole 7
After the incident took place, McIlroy was adamant that he saw his ball bounce before going into the water, but there were no TV replays to prove the fact. At last, he decided to agree with Spieth and allowed no room for controversies.
“I think Jordan [Spieth] was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing…I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It’s so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence.”
Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland discuss McIlroy’s drop on No. 7.
Rory makes double bogey to move from solo leader to T2. pic.twitter.com/dkV6a5Q22W
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2024
Later, he gave up since he had no evidence for his claims and stated that he was trying to protect himself and his game. Then, he talked about how he doubted himself as nobody sided with him regarding the matter.
“I was adamant, but I guess I started to doubt myself a little bit. I was like, ‘OK, did I actually see what I thought I saw?’. It is a bit of a blind spot [with the lack of television cameras]. I think the best view was from the tee, which was the view that we had.”
After the round, the Irishman’s playing partners didn’t speak to the media. Moreover, Rory affirmed that he wasn’t trying to infringe on any rules and that he was one of the most dutiful and genuine golfers who had always abided by the rules and never bent them in his accord.
He ended the conversation by stating how he believes in karma, and that he’ll never do something wrong intentionally. Although McIlroy had a few bogeys, he carded 10 birdies, which was quite a start. Hence, it is to see if he can retain his position as the event approaches the weekend.
