Rory McIlroy is in the midst of a victory lap in the Middle East this week, with the Northern Irishman already guaranteed to be crowned Race To Dubai winner ahead of the conclusion of the DP World Tour Championship in the UAE later this week.
The Holywood native has displayed some excellent form in 2023, so much so that he entered this week knowing that he would be crowned the top golfer on the European Tour regardless of events at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Of course, he will want to finish the year on a high with a good performance in the tournament.
McIlroy is fairly well placed to do so after Thursday's first round, sitting on -1 after carding a 71 on the opening day. He currently sits in a tie for 15th, four shots off leader Julien Guerrier.
READ HERE: Shane Lowry Is Embarrassed By One Incident During His Falling Out With Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy recreates 'Happy Gilmore' scene in Dubai
While this will not be the most memorable round of the year for Rory McIlroy, it did provide one of the more bizarre moments that he is likely to encounter over the course of his career.
After a sloppy tee shot see him miss the green on the par-three 13th hole, his ball ended up in among the spectators. While that is a common occurrence, the landing spot of the ball was not.
Once he made his way towards the area, McIlroy realised the ball had in fact landed in the lap of a female spectator. He would go on to get a ruling from the referee and be given a free drop.
Rory McIlroy's tee shot lands on spectator 's lap! 🤯#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/Yklsw5Nqhq
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 16, 2023
Whatever happened to 'play it as it lies'?
Of course, quite a few of you will draw parallels between this Rory McIlroy incident and a famous scene from Happy Gilmore.
On that occasion, villain of the piece Shooter McGavin was forced to play a shot off the foot of a rather annoyed spectator during his showdown with Happy Gilmore in the final round of the tour championship.
Thankfully, Rory McIlroy was handed a rather more straightforward lie this time around.
He will be hoping to make a move up the leaderboard over the coming days, with plenty of other Irish interest in the tournament. Shane Lowry was even-par for his opening round, while Tom McKibbin joins McIlroy on -1.
SEE ALSO: Shane Lowry Lost A Bit Of Cash To Rory McIlroy During Warmup Round In Dubai
