Rory McIlroy accused of breaking golf rule at The Open

Rory McIlroy was accused of breaking a golf rule during the opening round of the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Ben Smith

21 Jul 2023

Rory McIlroy accused of breaking golf rule at The Open

Rory McIlroy produced an incredible up and down to save par and post and opening round of 71 at the 2023 Open Championship.

He was made to work hard for it, considering his second into the par-5 closing hole at Royal Liverpool landed in a bunker in what looked like an impossible lie.

After taking two strokes to get out, McIlroy sank the putt, fist-pumped and scarpered back to his hotel to begin his prep for round two.

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"I wouldn't have been too happy walking off the 18th with a bogey, especially after the two shots I hit in there," he later said.

If you didn't know, McIlroy has some haters. Specifically, those that are fans of LIV Golf.

You could argue that nobody except Tiger Woods has carried more water for the PGA Tour over the last 13 months.

That hasn't endeared McIlroy to the LIV Golf faithful, with one fan account claiming that McIlroy's caddie, Harry Diamond, did something he wasn't supposed to on Thursday.

Could this be a pivotal moment?
The challenge and drama of links golf. Encapsulated by @McIlroyRory. pic.twitter.com/KqZHhIm9ZP
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023

So which golf rule are we talking about?

We are talking about rule 10.2b(4). Take a closer look at the rule here

Put simply:

"Once player begins taking stance and until stroke is made, player's caddie must not deliberately stand on or close to extension of line of play behind ball for any reason."

You'll notice that McIlroy's caddie Diamond stood behind the Northern Irishman as he tried to work out where he was going to place his feet and where he wanted to land his shot.

One pro-LIV account stated:

"Everyone's gonna hate on this because it's the PGA Tour's golden boy but this actually seems like a legitimate rules infraction. Replace Rory with any LIV player there and every single podcaster would be calling for a penalty to be assessed."

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Everyone’s gonna hate on this because it’s the PGA Tour’s golden boy but this actually seems like a legitimate rules infraction.
Replace Rory with any LIV player there and every single podcaster would be calling for a penalty to be assessed. https://t.co/u9wmtKvjtY
— LIV Golf Updates (@LIVGolfUpdates) July 21, 2023