McIlroy hit with two‑shot penalty for improving lie at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi opening round
Rory McIlroy was assessed a two-shot penalty for improving his lie on the par-four 12th at Yas Links during the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
The DP World Tour said McIlroy had breached rule 8.1b(4), which permits a player "to ground their club lightly right in front of or behind the ball" and added: "'Ground the club lightly' means allowing the weight of the club to be supported by the grass on or above the ground surface and there is no penalty even if the lie is improved. "However, a player is not allowed to press the club on the ground." The infraction converted his six on the hole to a quadruple-bogey eight, his only dropped shots of the round, and left him having signed for a two-under 70.
The 37-year-old, who is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, said that while "obviously there's no intent" on his part he was "happy" to take the penalty. "I play by the rules," the world number two said. He added: "I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions. "But just by looking at the video, like it doesn't look very good. Obviously that wasn't my intent. I'm just trying to get a feel for the lie."
Television footage and descriptions in the report show McIlroy pressing his club down on the grass behind his ball before hitting a chip from just off the green on the 12th after an earlier chip had rolled back down a hill and settled in a divot. "The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot," he said. "I'm trying to feel like if I can get a 54-degree [wedge] on to the back of the ball, but in the process, this piece of grass has sort of laid down, and I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece. "I don't feel like I pressed down. But at the same time, I don't want the perception of people thinking like I got away with something either, so I'm happy to take a two-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow." The penalty was imposed following his round.
McIlroy had turned in a two-under 34 and birdied the 11th before the 12th; he then picked up three shots in a row from the 14th and failed to birdie the par-five 18th prior to being informed of the rules incident. The ruling left him eight shots behind first-round leader Francesco Laporta.
Laporta produced a 62 to lead by three after the opening round, recording eight birdies and an eagle and settling for par on the 18th where an eagle would have produced a course record 60. Jon Rahm posted a bogey-free 65 in his first round since leaving LIV Golf and sits alongside England's Sam Bairstow and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger, while Matthew Jordan and Adrian Meronk are a shot further back.
Eugenio Chacarra, who leads the Race to Dubai standings after three victories this year, carded six birdies and four bogeys and sits on two under alongside McIlroy; American Patrick Reed, one position ahead of McIlroy in the standings, struggled to a 74 and double-bogeyed the final hole after finding water. Defending champion Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton each shot 67, with Tommy Fleetwood also on two under.
Seventy available players from the Race to Dubai are competing in Abu Dhabi with the top 50 progressing to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai; McIlroy remains in pursuit of a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, Chacarra is aiming to become the third Spaniard after Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm to win the season, and Reed would be the second American after Collin Morikawa to clinch the season-long crown.