Humiliating moment Rory McIlroy's ball rolls back to his feet after terrible shot during first round...
Rory McIlroy had a tough time at the challenging eighth hole, where he made a double-bogey. Can Rory McIlroy recover from his struggles at the US Open?
Blog post published at 2:17 PM on July 18th, 2024, and updated at 3:27 PM on the same day.
The notorious small hole at Royal Troon, known as the Postage Stamp, caused trouble for golfers during the first day of the 152nd Open Championship. One of the golfers who fell victim to this challenging hole was Rory McIlroy.
The man from Northern Ireland traveled to Scotland this week for one final opportunity to break his ten-year dry spell in major tournaments this year. This comes after his disappointing performance at the US Open last month.
Before he could make it to the bend in his first round, a disaster happened. The 35-year-old golfer hit the ball into the water at hole eight.
Even though the short par-three hole is only 123 yards, the small green is dangerous. If you miss the green, you'll be in trouble - as McIlroy found out.
The golfer who has won four major tournaments landed in a dangerous bunker with steep sides to the right of the putting green and suffered the consequences.
Rory McIlroy encountered a setback on Royal Troon's well-known Postage Stamp hole during the Thursday competition.
He tried to hit a short shot to get out of the sand trap, which initially succeeded. However, as he tried to carefully control the shot to avoid overshooting the green, he didn't hit it with enough strength.
The golf ball rolled down the green and ended up back where it started, not only losing its green color but also landing in the sand trap.
After only moving a small distance forward, McIlroy tried to play his bunker shot once more. However, he was cautious about making the same mistake again, so he put too much force into his second attempt and ended up with a double bogey.
There was no opportunity for a recovery. McIlroy made a bogey at the tenth hole and then another double bogey at the 11th, causing him to fall even lower on the leaderboard.
McIlroy is hoping to overcome his disappointment from the US Open at Troon this week, where he narrowly lost to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst.
During the last round of the major tournament last month, McIlroy was ahead by two shots. However, he made three bogeys in the last five holes, failing to sink two putts from a total distance of seven feet.
He decided to temporarily step away from the public eye of golfing, taking a break for three weeks during a challenging period in his personal and professional life.
He came back to play golf at the Genesis Scottish Open last week and ended up finishing in fourth place, tied with another player, at 14-under par.
His failure at the US Open, where he didn't win a major tournament in ten years, happened during a difficult period in his personal life as well.
He scored two over par on the eighth hole during the first round of The Open.
The man from Northern Ireland is trying to move on from his disappointment at the US Open last month.
McIlroy decided to take a break for three weeks after the turmoil following his poor performance at Pinehurst and his sudden change of mind regarding his divorce.
Just before the US Open started, he shared that he decided not to go through with the divorce from his wife, Erica Stoll, whom he has been married to for seven years.
Just a month before the PGA Championship in May, McIlroy revealed that he and Erica were going to separate because their marriage was beyond repair.
However, during the week leading up to the tournament, McIlroy addressed the speculation about his personal life in a statement. He mentioned that it was unfortunate that rumors were circulating and stated that he would not engage in responding to each one, as it would be unproductive.
In recent weeks, Erica and I have come to understand that our happiest future lies in staying together as a family. We are grateful to have overcome our disagreements and are excited for a fresh start.
