RORY McILROY WILL BE FINED FOR CLUB-THROWING LOSS OF TEMPER

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SPORT WEBSITE
By James Corrigan, at Wentworth
The fine will not bother Rory McIlroy but what probably will are the replays of his frustration boiling over. The club flew out of his hand in anger here yesterday and some rare criticism duly headed in the direction of the young Northern Irishman

McIlroy is famous for the boyish smile and the unaffected nature with which he approaches a profession for which he is born and, to be fair, this was a highly uncharacteristic reaction. Lest we forget, there is a fierce competitor behind everyone’s favourite golfer.

As he watched his second shot fly towards the out-of-bounds on the par-five 12th, the fury at an attempted fade becoming a ruinous pull burned deep. And then his provisional headed into a bunker. Farewell, seven-iron.

The bogey six led to a 74 which left him eight off the pace after the first round of the BMW PGA Championship. After missing his third cut in a row at the Players Championship a fortnight ago, the world No 1 was threatening to double up at another course which does not bow to his majesty.

McIlroy’s last two visits to Surrey have yielded a tie for 24th and a tie for 48th. Strangely, the admiral-elect of golf turns into a midshipman come the flagship events of the European and US PGA Tours. The Tour’s usual policy is not to publicise fines. But McIlroy should expect a bill.

McIlroy was a picture of despondency after signing for a card which featured an eagle, three birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey on the 16th. “It was a bit of déjà vu from last year,” he said, thinking back to his five-over beginning in 2011. 

“I struggled with the pace of the greens. On the 12th, I was trying to hold it up against the wind and double-crossed it. I ended up out-of-bounds by an inch.”
However unfair it may be to over-state the misguided passion of a 23 year-old, it was inevitable McIlroy’s response to adversity would be compared to that of his compadre Graeme McDowell. McIlroy threw a club, McDowell had the rulebook thrown at him. The latter provided an exhibition in chin-taking, although not everyone here was so magnanimous.
“Obviously a lot of gin-swigging goes on up there.” That was the classic quote delivered by Ernie Els when informed of the two-shot penalty. A reference to the rulemakers?
McDowell’s punishment came as a result of him daring to step to within six feet of his ball. And so his bogey six at the 18th became a triple bogey eight and a 72 turned into a 74.
McDowell’s drive into the trees nestled on a bed of leaves with branches underneath. As he peered through to consider his options, he later discovered “the ball moved a few dimples”. He felt there was something wrong with the scenario, but crucially he did not call an official. He should have replaced his ball at the cost of one shot, but as he did not the sanction was doubled.
“How are you supposed to attempt to place the ball when you’re not sure it’s moved in the first place?” McDowell said. “It’s a harsh one – one of those freak scenarios in golf.”
Harsh, indeed. Els’s bemusement very neatly and rather wryly summed up the mood. Yet, typical of the man, McDowell refused to blame anybody but himself and certainly not the armchair vigilante who so courageously rose from his cushions to phone the Tour.
“It’s my fault. I should have called in a referee,” said McDowell who, in effect, called it on himself by asking for the video to be checked. “I’ve cost myself by getting careless.”
Still, it does not seem right for a player to be penalised simply for venturing close enough to look at his ball. It is another rule for the lawmakers to analyse. It would not have even been an issue if those “high def, super slo-mo” replays did not exist.
But they do, and so McDowell, like McIlroy, must try to make up the eight-stroke deficit. For both the first challenge is to make the weekend. If McIlroy fails, then Luke Donald need only finish in the top eight to claim back the world No 1 tag.
The Englishman shot a highly-controlled 68 to stand two off Scotland’s David Drysdale and Ireland’s Peter Lawrie. Donald’s playing partner, Justin Rose, fired a 67 and seems in ominous nick. But golf takes as much as it gives. Yesterday reminded it can get to the very best of them.