Rory McIlroy’s 1st round at Pebble Beach Pro-Am ends with 2-stroke penalty after illegal drop

A rule change for the backcourt caught McIlroy off guard.

Rory McIlroy didn’t realize his biggest mistake until the 18th hole of the first round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

McIlroy accidentally bogeyed the 16th hole (Spyglass Hill 7th hole) and received a 2-stroke penalty, posting 3 under par on the day and taking first place, 5 shots behind Patrick Cantlay . This included the USGA’s backhand rule change that went into effect last year. In the past, if you hit a free putt, you received a one-stroke penalty and could reverse the putt by rolling the ball along the line connecting the hole and the point where the ball entered. . Penalty area. By 2023, you’ll be able to make this drop on a club-length line. The rule has changed so that the ball can only be hit from that line. McIlroy used an older version of that fairway. When his drive went wide into the penalty area, he used reverse relief and flicked the ball to the right with a club-length. The result was a triple bogey.

Rory McIlroy went from good to bad in the first round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Here’s how PGA Tour rules judge Mark Dusbabek explains them on air:

“If the rules change in 2023, you will still be behind the checkered flag line. But you have to land on that line, and you can move in any direction, even forward. On that line, Rory dropped the length to the side, putting it in a bad spot. You will receive 2 penalty strokes.\”

“Rory was caught by referee Stephen Cox while scoring and fully accepted his mistake. His attitude was very professional and he admitted he made a mistake in regulation.”

McIlroy also revealed the error to Ron Mintz after the round, saying he didn’t know the rules had changed.

\”Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. So I took the unplayable version in 7 and put it back online. I do not know. In January 2023, the rules will change so you can go back to the net and get a club length from each end. To this end, changes were made starting from 2019. When everything changed somewhat because I didn’t know that the rules would change again in 2023, I was able to think briefly about the 2019 rules and write two lines on them. \”

The error was part of a rough end to a promising round. McIlroy posted a 6-under par on the day in 14 holes, made three straight bogeys and finished the round with a par.