McIlroy Penalty Turns a 68 Into a 70 and Leaves Him Eight Shots Back in Abu Dhabi

A two-shot McIlroy penalty has turned what looked like a strong start to the Abu Dhabi Championship into a mid-pack round. Rory McIlroy believed he had shot a four-under 68 at Yas Links. After the round, officials ruled he had improved his lie on the 12th hole, and he signed for a two-under 70.

The trouble began at the par-four 12th. McIlroy missed the green with his approach, and his first chip from the rough rolled back down to his feet and into a divot. As he set up for the next shot, video showed a tuft of grass behind the ball appear to move when his wedge touched down. The DP World Tour said this breached rule 8.1b(4). That rule allows a player to ground the club lightly behind the ball, meaning the grass supports the club’s weight. It does not allow the club to be pressed into the ground. A light touch carries no penalty even if the lie improves, but pressing does.

How the McIlroy penalty changed the scorecard

The ruling turned a six into an eight, a quadruple bogey on a par four. It was McIlroy’s only dropped shot of the day, and it moved him from four under to two under. That left him eight strokes behind the leader and level with Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra and Tommy Fleetwood.

McIlroy accepted the decision without a fight. He said there was “no intent” and that he was only trying to get a feel for a ball sitting in a sandy divot. “I don’t feel like I pressed down,” he said, but he conceded the footage “doesn’t look very good.” He added that he did not want people thinking he had got away with something, so he was “happy” to take the two shots and move on.

The timing is awkward for the world number two. He is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, which would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie. He started the week one place behind Patrick Reed in the standings. Reed, second behind Chacarra, opened with a 74 and double-bogeyed the last after finding water.

Laporta leads as Rahm returns

While the marquee names stumbled, Italy’s Francesco Laporta shot a bogey-free 62 with eight birdies and an eagle. He missed a chance at a course-record 60 by making only par on the closing hole. The 36-year-old is chasing a first DP World Tour win and needs a strong week to break into the top 50 who reach next week’s season-ending event in Dubai. He compared his round to “a video game.”

Jon Rahm sits three back after a bogey-free 65, alongside Sam Bairstow and Bernd Wiesberger. It was his first competitive round since leaving LIV Golf. He had not played since September because of the birth of his daughter, but he showed little rust. Defending champion Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton are at five under.

For McIlroy, the arithmetic is tough but not impossible over three more rounds. Eight shots is a lot on a course where Laporta found 62. After the McIlroy penalty, the Northern Irishman will need a clean, low weekend to stay in the Race to Dubai conversation.

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File photo: Rory McIlroy watches drive flight (portrait orientation).jpg by TourProGolfClubs, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.