Rory McIlroy signed for a 5-under 67 Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship, but it was not easy.
The Northern Irishman was 4-under through six holes. From there, things went up and down for him, including a left-handed putt and his equipment failing on the par-5 12th.
On the 12th hole, McIlroy’s second shot saw his club head fly off after impact. It was crazy to see something like that happen, and the best part was the ball landed a little over six feet from the hole. He went on to make birdie.
The video is crazy, but seeing the still photo of the impact is even more mind-blowing.
Seeing that club head floating in the air and the ball going straight does not seem possible. How did that ball stay on its path?
“It was a bit of a weird feeling. I hit, and you know, obviously, you’re expecting the weight of the club to pull through, and there was nothing there,” McIlroy said. “Thankfully, the ball went where I wanted it to. It could have been a lot worse, but thankfully, I got it repaired, and it should be okay to go tomorrow.”
That crazy moment was not the only weird thing McIlroy did at Wentworth Golf Club on Thursday. Earlier in the round, he had to use the back of his putter on the par-4 8th to hit a left-handed putt.
McIlroy settled for par on that hole, but seeing him flip that putter around and hit it from the back was still wild.
“Hopefully, no more left-handed this week,” he said. “It was up against the collar where that water hazard is on the 8th hole and didn’t have a stance hitting it right-handed. Did a decent job — at least I got the speed pretty much correct. I didn’t get the line right, but knocked that one in, made par, and very swiftly moved to the 9th tee, pretty happy.”
Regardless of those two crazy moments, McIlroy is still in contention. A 5-under 67 is a great score to start the BMW PGA Championship. He currently sits one shot behind the leaders.
With all that action, he remained pleased with that score. McIlroy did enough to save two shots that could have derailed his entire day. Instead, it seems luck was on his side, and he will have a chance to redeem himself after that heartbreaking loss in Ireland.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
