Rory McIlroy’s outrageous tee shot ignites red-hot again 9 at Bay Hill

Rory McIlroy wanted a spark.

He struggled on the entrance 9, making bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes, and immediately, he sat at 1-over for the event. His putter was not cooperating both, as he didn’t make a single birdie over his first 9 holes.

As such, McIlroy determined to be aggressive on the par-4 tenth, which measures 401 yards. He pulled out the large stick, aimed over the nook of the dogleg, and knocked it on the inexperienced.

In doing so, McIlroy grew to become the primary participant to drive the tenth inexperienced at Bay Hill since 2003, the start of the ShotLink period.

“I assumed if I received it in one of many two entrance traps, that might be a superb go away to hit one thing up the inexperienced,” McIlroy mentioned of his tee shot.

“I wasn’t attempting to hit it on the inexperienced, however it was good to stroll up and see it on there.”

McIlroy then two-putted for birdie, thus getting again to even-par for the event.

Then, the Northern Irishman hooked his tee shot into the pond on the following gap. Regardless of that, he nonetheless received up and down from 152 yards, knocking his third shot to seven ft within the course of.

“These holes, specifically, 10 and 11, form of received me going,” McIlroy mentioned.

The four-time main winner then birdied the par-5 twelfth and the par-4 thirteenth. McIlroy drained a 27-footer at 13 to get to 2-under total.

However he was not completed.

Photograph by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Pictures

McIlroy made three straight birdies to shut out his spherical, finally shifting up the leaderboard by greater than 20 spots. His two birdies on 17 and 18 got here on putts from 29 ft and 19 ft, respectively. Thus, he carded a 6-under 30 on the again 9, tying the document at Bay Hill.

He signed for a 4-under 68, one of many lowest rounds of the day—a day that has performed extraordinarily tough as a result of warmth and excessive winds. He now sits at 5-under total.

Something can occur on the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, too, particularly since McIlroy has now entered competition.

“You bought to choose your spots and nonetheless be affected person,” McIlroy defined.

“I feel the wind shall be out of a unique course once more [Sunday], so the wind or the golf course will play fairly otherwise than it did right now. We’ll see what occurs.”

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.