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Rory McIlroy’s frustration with his failing form boiled over during Friday’s PGA Tour playoff as he tossed his three-wood into a pond – before feeling compelled to wade through the weeds to fish the club out.
The world number three, who finished second-to-last in Sunday’s first FedEx Cup penalty shootout, which will see next week’s winner take home $25 million (£22.3 million), was on his penultimate hole at the BMW Championship when his temper flared.
As his tee shot on the 17th hole headed into the rough, he threw his wood into the water. However, if he wanted to make it disappear for good, it was his second misjudgment in a matter of seconds – he just hit the wet ground.
It certainly lacked the effort of his most infamous club throw at Doral a decade ago, when his 3-iron was thrown so far into the lake that Donald Trump, the course owner and then-future president of the United States, had to employ a diver equipped with breathing apparatus to retrieve it.
McIlroy then parred the hole at Denver’s Castle Pines Club on his way to a three-under-par 71, but at three under par he found himself 10 behind leader Adam Scott.
Since finishing runner-up at the US Open in June – when the Northern Irishman seemed all but certain to win his first major in 10 years until he bogeyed three of the last four holes and effectively handed the title to Bryson DeChambeau – McIlroy has struggled mightily.
He finished fifth at the Olympics but that was followed by a missed cut at the Royal Troon Open and then a tie for 68th in a 70-man field last week in Memphis.
McIlroy still has a chance to collect his fourth FedEx bonus next week in Atlanta and believes it could turn a “pretty good year into a very good year.” However, his reaction in Colorado alone underscores the need for significant improvement.
