Rory McIlroy hits SHANK at Tour Championship as golf fan gets WIPED out by rope!
Rory McIlroy shanked a wedge shot on the 18th hole in the first round of the Tour Championship, a hole after watching a golf fan get clotheslined by the top rope after his bad shot!
Rory McIlroy's rollercoaster first round at the Tour Championship was capped off by watching a fan gets clotheslined by a rope on 17 before shanking a wedge on 18.
McIlroy, 34, was seen struggling with a lower back injury for the majority of the first round.
To his credit, the PGA Tour star carded a level-par 70 to remain 7-under par and just three strokes off the pace heading into the second round.
After a difficult front nine where he went out in 37 shots, McIlroy birdied the 10th before handing it back at the 11th.
He then rattled home three birdies in the space of four holes from the 13th, before finishing rather flat to close out the round.
After driving into position on the 17th, McIlroy flung an iron out to the right side of the green in the rough.
It took one spectator by complete surprise as the man instantly got up from his chair before being wiped out by the rope!
WATCH FAN GET TAKEN OUT BY TOP ROPE AFTER MCILROY'S ERRANT SHOT:
Need an update on the latest rope victim after Rory Mcilroy’s shot on 17 (I still pray nightly that Bryson’s PTSD has subsided)
PGA Tour needs to get a grip on this next season. LIV would never pic.twitter.com/3VeV0lpwoe
— Making Golf Fun Again (@golfballingpod) August 24, 2023
McIlroy would make a par though.
He would then had a golden chance to make birdie on the par-5 18th but he incredibly shanked his third shot with a wedge straight into the bunker.
McIlroy would fail to get his ball up and down from sand and it led to a fourth bogey of the round.
WATCH MCILROY'S SHANK HERE:
Rory Mcilroy with an unfortunate shank on 18 #FedExCup pic.twitter.com/TTT463c4tx
— Making Golf Fun Again (@golfballingpod) August 24, 2023
McIlroy told a pool of reporters after the round that he felt a strain in his lower back earlier in the week on Tuesday.
It then got much worse on Wednesday.
So bad in fact he "couldn't move".
That particular comment from McIlroy appeared to rattle a number of PGA Tour gamblers and fantasy players who selected the Northern Irishman to win the Tour Championship this week.
A number of fans ranted on social media that McIlroy should have disclosed his injury concerns during his Wednesday press conference.
One PGA Tour winner could not understand why McIlroy was playing on given the discomfort he was in during the first round, especially with the Ryder Cup a month away.
But McIlroy admitted he never even considered withdrawing from the FedEx Cup finale, especially as he looks to defend his title and win it for a fourth time.
The winner of this year's FedEx Cup takes home $18m.
McIlroy won the FedEx Cup in 2016, 2019 and 2022.
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