Rory McIlroy Throws Club Into Water At BMW Championship

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 23 August 2024

It was one bad drive too many for Rory McIlroy at the 17th hole of the BMW Championship, as he reacted to a missed fairway by tossing his golf club into the water.

Luckily for him, his club throw was almost as off target as his tee shot was as it just tumbled into the edge of the lake positioned just off the 17th tee.

It meant that he had to suffer the indignity of trudging over to the water and fishing out his soaking wet club - before handing it to caddie Harry Diamond to try and dry it off.

His second round at Castle Pines was not exactly a disaster, as he carded a one-under 71 to move to three under par for the BMW Championship at the halfway point, but you could see the tension rising.

Having just three-putted the 16th for bogey, McIlroy's temper was already running hot before missing the fairway on the very getable par-five 17th.

In truth it was a half-hearted club toss, we've seen much better from McIlroy in the past and it was more a petulant underarm flick away in disgust.

His club took a bounce and skipped into the water rather than being flung in at pace, and the grip was still sticking out of the drink when McIlroy realised what he'd done.

A stare over at the water followed before the Northern Irishman accepted that he'd have to suffer the shame of going and fetching his club back from its watery grave.

Watch in the incident below...

"You can see the frustration" 😬Rory McIlroy throws his club in the water after tee shot! 💧 pic.twitter.com/tDAgDDCucKAugust 23, 2024

McIlroy sits in eighth on the FedEx Cup standings and with Scottie Scheffler a runaway leader the four-time Major champion is just looking to finish the season strong.

His second round at the BMW leaves him 10 shots behind Adam Scott, with the Australian sticking in a wonderful second round of 63 to get to 13 under at the halfway point.

It would take something hugely spectacular from McIlroy to get back into contention from here, and his demeanour on Friday didn't suggest he felt like a low round was coming.

The 35-year-old did manage to finish in fifth place at the Olympics but a T68 at the FedEx St Jude Championship last week was another disappointment as he struggles to find his best form.

If he is to make a run in Colorado on Saturday, first and foremost he'll have to keep his clubs dry.

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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.

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