Rory McIlroy's caddie bib spelled wrong again in bizarre FedEx St Jude blunder
Harry Diamond was handed another misspelt bib in Memphis, more than two years after the same mistake at Pebble Beach, as McIlroy's difficult week continued.
Rory McIlroy's frustrating week at the FedEx St Jude Championship was summed up rather neatly by an unfortunate spelling mistake on his caddie's bib during Friday's second round.
Harry Diamond was walking the fairways at TPC Southwind with a bib that incorrectly displayed “MCLLROY”, rather than McIlroy's correct surname.
It is not the first time Diamond has been the victim of a caddie-bib blunder, either.
The same mistake occurred at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2024, when his bib also contained a double L.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, the latest error was perhaps fitting given his struggles in Memphis.
The World No.2 carded a level-par 70 on Friday but bogeyed his final two holes to undo some of the progress he had made during his second round.
He remains at 4-over par in tied 60th on the leaderboard, having opened with a disappointing 74 on Thursday.
With only 68 players remaining in the field following Robert MacIntyre's withdrawal, McIlroy is perilously close to the bottom of the board heading into the weekend.
He is also a mammoth 15 shots behind runaway leader and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who produced a sensational second round to tie the TPC Southwind course record with a 9-under 61.
Scheffler, who played alongside McIlroy for the first 36 holes, moved to 11-under par and takes a commanding three-shot lead into the weekend, with Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im tied for second at 8-under par.
Ludvig Aberg is alone in fourth at 7-under par, while Nico Echavarria, Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman and reigning FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood round out the top five on 6-under par.
McIlroy's struggles come after a three-week break from competitive golf.
The Northern Irishman spent time in both Ibiza and Greece with family and friends before returning to his clubs for the first time since The Open at Royal Birkdale last weekend.
A little rust was therefore perhaps inevitable, although his 4-over par thru 36 holes total leaves him with plenty of work to do if he is to salvage anything from the opening event of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The FedEx St Jude is the first of three playoff events, with the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings advancing to next week's BMW Championship.
The field is then reduced to 30 for the season-ending Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup champion will be crowned.
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