The news breaking on Friday from Florida and The Honda Classic places Rory McIlroy in an exclusive – if somewhat unwanted short list - of Irish players to walk off a golf course mid round. In doing so he joins another Ryder Cup player, Ronan Rafferty, who was fined £5,000 pounds for doing the same thing during the 1991 US Open at Hazeltine. In departing the PGA National at Palm Beach Gardens the world number 1 leaves Jack Nicklaus record safely intact of winning the event back to back...
However having carded 7 over by the turn that 35 year old record was not under any threat from McIlroy – this week at least.
Last year John Daly hit six balls into the water at the Australian Open and then shook hands with playing partner Craig Parry before walking off the course at Coolum. But then again The Wild Thing had form having also walked off during his second round at the Austrian Open at Atzenbrugg in the same months, following a rules infringement. In Australia Daly had been penalised two shots at the 10th hole for hitting the wrong ball out of a bunker, leaving him seven over approaching the 11th.
“When you run out of balls, you run out of balls. Yes I shook my playing partner's hands and signed my card with [the] rules official." Daly said afterwards.
In 2005 Dane Thomas Bjorn lead by four strokes at the K Club on the final day of the European Masters only to sign for a 14-over par 86 on the Sunday, ending up nine strokes adrift in a tie for 33rd. It was a day he lived a 16-shot swing - a record on the European Tour by five shots – as it eclipsed Nick Faldo's 11-shot swing over Greg Norman in the final round of the 1996 Masters. Although Bjorn three-putted the last the real drama had come at the par-four 17th, where he hit three balls into the River Liffey on his way to a seven-over 11. All of which followed five dropped shots in the first 10 holes.
The two time Ryder Cup vice-Captain had shown brittleness a year previous when he walked off the course after only six holes of the same vent – and at the same venue.
At the time the experience for Bjorn was described as even worse than the implosion in the final round of the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St George's when American Ben Curtis became the surprise beneficiary. On that day Bjorn took three shots to escape from a greenside bunker at the par-three 16th at a time that had been leading the event by three shots.
Like McIlroy that collapse came in the full media gaze and for Rory it also comes on the wake of the much remarked switch to Nike Golf clubs.
It also comes on the foot of a few consecutive missed cuts - and a first round defeat to Shane Lowry at the WGC Accenture match play- all of which only adds to the pressure. But the world number one has been here before, and is well able to bounce back. Indeed The Masters would now look a more likely victory for him given he will arrive at Augusta with little expectations. Especially if the Blue Monster also does damage when he plays the WGC Cadillac in a few weeks.
But whatever the underlying reason for McIlroy's actions it also places him up there with Bobby Jones, who played the Old Course at St. Andrews for the first time at the 1921 British Open. And it was not to be a positive experience as Jones simply walked off the course during the third round after he took four swings at his ball in a deep bunker on the 11th e, and failed to get the ball out.
After which he then picked up the ball and walked off.
As we know now the rest was history at St Andrews in subsequent years. No doubt for Rory it will be the same after the media frenzy dies down and the fines are paid...
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