Rory McIlroy came up short in the end at the BMW Championship, as Wyndham Clark won his third PGA Tour title of the season.
McIlroy has struggled with motivation since his victory at The Masters back in April.
However, the 37-year-old’s juices were clearly flowing once again while in contention in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy showed huge improvements at the BMW Championship after his disastrous performance in Memphis the week before.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
McIlroy was gracious in defeat against Wyndham Clark at the BMW, but he was clearly hurting after missing out on his 31st PGA Tour win.
However, judging by some of the chatter on social media during the final round at Bellerive, some golf fans weren’t too pleased with an incident involving the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy received a free drop from the fringe behind the 12th green because his foot was touching the edge of a sprinkler head.
And numerous golf fans were absolutely furious with the free drop that the Northern Irishman received.
“The rules of golf are so stupid. The fact that Rory’s heel can be on a drain in the rough and you get a free drop to the fringe but being in the middle of the fairway in a divot and get no relief. Make it make sense,“ one golf fan fumed.
Meanwhile, another fan mocked an announcer who said: “He’s not taking advantage of the rules, he’s using the rules to his advantage.”
Photo by Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“Incredible rules analysis on this dubious drop situation for Rory,“ he replied.
The comments kept coming, with fans stating, “Just let Rory drop it in the hole since he’s the golden boy,“ and, “Rory McIlroy getting relief there is extraordinary!!“
Another golf fan rather harshly exclaimed: “Disgusting scenes from Rory McIlroy.“
“Why Rory McIlroy gets relief there is beyond me,“ one bemused fan suggested.
Finally, one golf fan accused the PGA Tour of giving McIlroy preferential treatment, saying: “The fact that the PGA Tour lets Rory do whatever he wants would be less apparent if the rules official had not immediately said “Yes sir” to him as soon as he got there.“
It is fair to say that McIlroy certainly took advantage of the rules, but it’s worth noting that he certainly didn’t break them.
There are much worse things that golf professionals do in order to gain an advantage.
A much more controversial incident involving Wyndham Clark occurred on Sunday at Bellerive.
Clark was seen pressing several different clubs close behind his ball in the rough on the 14th hole.
Some suggested that he was improving his lie by doing so, but again, this is something that happens every single week in professional golf.
Perhaps golf’s governing bodies need to come down harder on situations like that.
However, the free drop that Rory McIlroy was given during the final round of the BMW Championship was not even a contentious one in my opinion.
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