Rory McIlroy’s return to Ireland didn’t go quite as scripted on Thursday, and not because of his swing.
The Masters champion had a rocky finish to his first round at the Amgen Irish Open, bogeying two of his final three holes after being slapped with a slow play warning. He insists that the warning had little to do with his pace and everything to do with the massive crowds and media circus that followed him.
“I got frustrated the last few holes because I felt a bit rushed,” McIlroy admitted after carding a 1-under 71 at the K Club. That left him five shots back of Spain’s Nacho Elvira, who leads after round one of the DP World Tour event.
Rory’s Patience Tested at the K Club
McIlroy, clearly annoyed, told reporters he barely managed to keep his cool as two different rules officials put his group “on the clock” — a standard warning in professional golf for slow play. But Rory McIlroy says that judgment was flat-out unfair, blaming delays on the 20,000-strong gallery, plus camera crews and media that made movement between shots nearly impossible.
“We got put on the clock pretty early… and then we were put on the clock for the last three holes by another one,” he explained. “They don’t use common sense… Of course we’re going to lose ground.”
For McIlroy, this isn’t new. “It’s happened to me quite a lot,” he said. “Any time I come back to this tour or play in some of those world No. 1, 2, 3 groups, we are always put on the clock for the same reason.”
He even referenced a similar moment at The Players Championship in March, when he “lost [his] s—” with an official. (He went on to win that tournament in a playoff.)
While Thursday’s finish wasn’t ideal, McIlroy isn’t likely to dwell on one frustrating round with the BMW PGA Championship and Ryder Cup coming up.
