Rory McIlroy received a two-shot penalty during the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on the DP World Tour after video review indicated he had improved his lie on the 12th hole.
The penalty transformed his score on the Par 4 12th hole from a double bogey six into an eight, pushing him further back from the leaders.
McIlroy, who had initially carded a 4-under 68, finished the round with a 70. The incident occurred when his tee shot landed in the rough beyond the green. As he prepared for his next shot, a close-up video captured his wedge pressing down a tuft of grass behind the ball.
"Obviously, there’s no intent. I play by the rules," McIlroy stated after the round, according to Golf Channel. "But just by looking at the video, like it doesn’t look — it doesn’t look very good. Obviously, that wasn’t my intent."
He explained that the ball was in a "sandy divot" and that in attempting to adjust his position to strike the ball cleanly, he inadvertently affected the lie.
"The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot. I’m trying to feel like if I can get a 54-degree [wedge], like, onto the back of the ball, but in the process, this piece of grass has sort of laid down, and it doesn’t — you know, the technical — I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece," McIlroy said. "I’m happy to take a two-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow."
This incident follows a previous rules controversy involving Bryson DeChambeau at The Open Championship, where DeChambeau was penalized for improving his line of play. McIlroy had been critical of DeChambeau's actions at the time.