Rory McIlroy’s strong opening round of 67 belied what was an eventful Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship.
Unable to take a stance near a hazard on the eighth green, he swatted a putt left-handed.
Trying to take advantage of back-to-back par 5s to close, he hit a violent snap hook off the 17th tee.
And then, on his final hole of the day, he flailed an approach shot so far right it went out of bounds.
But the wildest of all? When the head of his 9-iron snapped off through impact on the par-5 12th hole. The mishap didn’t affect the shot – the ball still plopped down 10 feet away from the cup, for a two-putt birdie – but it was the first time that McIlroy could recall that happening in competition.
“I hit 9-iron on the ninth hole,” he said, “and I looked at it and looked as if the barrel was coming loose, but it was actually the head detaching from the shaft. I obviously didn’t realize that when I hit the shot on 12.
“It was a bit of a weird feeling. I hit it, and obviously you’re expecting the weight of the club to just pull through and there was nothing there. Thankfully, the ball went where I wanted it to. It could have been a lot worse, but thankfully got it repaired and it should be OK to go tomorrow.”
McIlroy maintained his good form just a few days after losing the Irish Open over the closing stretch. He said there was a “misconception that it hit me harder than it maybe did” when he was unable to get across the line at Royal County Down, because Rasmus Hojgaard came home in 31 to nip him at the end.
“My game is feeling like it’s in pretty good shape,” he said earlier this week, “and I feel like I have another chance to win a really big tournament that means a lot to me.”