McIlroy takes two-shot penalty for improving lie in Abu Dhabi opening round

A penalty on the 12th hole

Rory McIlroy's opening round at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links on Thursday, 5 November, ended with a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie on the 12th hole. The Masters champion missed the green from the middle of the fairway, and his first chip ran back down the slope and settled into a divot. While he assessed the lie, he pressed his club down behind the ball and flattened a small piece of grass, which did not spring back into place. At the time he had recorded a six, but the penalty, imposed after the round, turned the hole into a quadruple bogey eight.

Scorecard and the leaderboard

Before the penalty McIlroy was at four-under 68, having made three straight birdies from the 14th to the 16th after the 12th. The penalty dropped him to a two-under 70, and he finished with six birdies and no other dropped shots. He is eight strokes behind Francesco Laporta, the 224th-ranked player, who shot 10-under 62 with eight birdies and an eagle. Laporta leads by three strokes from a group of three players in second place, and he missed a six-foot birdie putt at the 18th that would have produced a 61, which would have tied the course record.

McIlroy before penalty68

McIlroy after penalty70

Francesco Laporta62

McIlroy before penalty

68 strokes

McIlroy after penalty

70 strokes

Francesco Laporta

62 strokes

Data from the article text

Race to Dubai implications

McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, which would also be his fifth straight and would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie on the all-time list. Eugenio Chacarra, a Spaniard playing his first full season on the European tour, leads the standings, with Patrick Reed second. McIlroy is around 1,000 points behind Chacarra and around 330 behind Reed, but the winner in Abu Dhabi will gain 1,500 points. The season finishes in Dubai in the week of 9 November, where 2,000 points are available to the winner. Chacarra, Reed and McIlroy play in the same group for the first two rounds. Reed struggled to a 74 with 15 pars and a closing double bogey seven, tied for 56th in the 70-man field.

McIlroy's response

McIlroy said the penalty was not intended and that he plays by the rules, while conceding that the footage did not look good. He said he was only trying to get a feel for a ball sitting in a sandy divot, and that he did not believe he had pressed down on the grass. He added that he did not want people to think he had got away with anything, so he accepted the penalty.

“Obviously, there's no intent. I play by the rules.”

He then said he was satisfied with the rest of his round, which featured six birdies and no dropped strokes, and he was looking ahead to the next day.

“I'm happy to take the two-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow.”