‘I Wasn’t Aware’: Rory McIlroy Defends Bizarre 2-Stroke Penalty Amid Upsetting PGA Tour Return

Not how Rory McIlroy expected to kickstart his PGA Tour season, but it is what it is. The Northern Irishman was fined a two-stroke penalty for taking an incorrect drop on the par-5 7th hole at Pebble Beach. McIlroy, however, claimed he was unaware of the rule change.

The Jupiter resident started from par 4 Hole 10 at Spyglass Hill, carding 34 in the back nine. Carrying the momentum, the Northern Irishman conjured another birdie on the par-5 first hole. Going strong down the stretch, McIlroy made three consecutive birdies from hole 3 to hole 5, moving to 6-under. However, that’s where things went haywire. 

After a bogey at the par-5 sixth, thanks to a missed 3-putt, on the 7th hole, his errant tee shot landed by a tree, forcing Rory McIlroy to take an unplayable drop. Finishing the seventh hole with a bogey, the PGA Tour Pro moved to 3-under. Or, so he thought.

The Tour officials informed World No. 2 that he had, in fact, taken an incorrect drop by placing the ball a club length beside the backline. It was acceptable in 2019, but the rule has since changed in 2023. “Unbeknownst to me the rule changed on January 2023,“ Rory McIlroy told media persons said after the round.

“So I took a drop thinking of the 2019 rule when everything was sort of changed, not knowing that the rule was changed in 2023.” The 24-time PGA Tour winner eventually carded 1-under 71 in the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to finish tied for the 39th spot.

Explaining the rules, Mark Dusbabek, Senior Director, Lead TV Rules & Video Analyst for the PGA TOUR, said, “You still go back-of-the-line, in line with the flagstick, from where the ball is. However, you have to drop it on that line, and it can roll in any direction, even forward, one club length.” Rory McIlroy, however, “dropped one club length to the side, which makes it a wrong place, and it will be a two-stroke penalty.”

It was part of an eventful day for the Jupiter resident. Notably, his tee shot in the par-5 first ‘vanished’ for a few minutes. To his relief, the Northern Irish Pro found the ball embedded in the fairway. After ‘excavating’ the ball, McIlroy got a rule exemption. Taking recourse to ‘embedded ball relief’, the 24-time PGA Tour winner got to hit his approach from a preferred lie.

McIlroy made a birdie putt eventually, but he was clearly not so lucky on the seventh. The 34-year-old, though, should comfort himself knowing he was not the only one to be caught off guard. In fact, Phil Mickelson was on the verge of making the same mistake at Oak Hill last year.

Rory McIlroy’s mistake has precedence in history

At the 2023 PGA Championship, Mickelson’s wayward drive at the par-4 sixth landed into the swamp. The 46-time PGA Tour winner, after getting a thumbs up from Rickie Fowler, who had little something to say about bringing back LIV Golfers at the PGA Tour, was on the verge of taking the wrong shot. However, the rules officials intervened in time, saving the oldest Major winner from making a costly mistake.

Read More: ‘Let [LIV Golf Pros] Come Back’: Rory McIlroy U-Turns Despite Suffering Massive Betrayal Hours Ago