Golf is a cruel sport, with even the very best players in world not immune to being made a show of when they hold a club in their hand.
You can take Rory McIlroy as an example.
Fresh off winning the FedEx Cup, the 33-year old is among the field for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week. He had a decent start to the tournament, carding a -4 round of 68 to find himself four shots behind leader Tommy Fleetwood.
However, he was left with pie on his face after an embarrassing moment on the eighth hole.
Rory McIlroy laughs off awful shot at Wentworth
Despite having found some rather deep rough with his drive, Rory McIlroy attempted to find the green from the long grass on his second effort.
It was a difficult shot to pull off, as he soon found out.
Having put a huge amount of power into the swing, the club would get caught in the grass and the ball would just rebound off the ridge directly in front of him.
McIlroy was very surprised, with even the cameraman being caught out by the flight of the ball.
We've all been there 😬#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/JnpEzOb1aG
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 8, 2022
All the golfer could do was laugh at himself.
Luckily for McIlroy, he would produce a fine third shot and ultimately go on to card a respectable bogey on the hole.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his round, he said that he was as surprised as anyone after making such a mess of the shot.
Rory McIlroy reflects on his performance on the first day of the BMW Championship after he finished the round four shots under-par. pic.twitter.com/OLHyhFTErA
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 8, 2022
I thought I played okay. As you said, the rain was on and off today and that made a little tricky.
The course is soft, so receptive. It's target practice out there, if you can get the ball on the fairway you have the ball in your hand. It's preferred lie, so you can go low.
I felt -4 was fairly pedestrian. I didn't do a lot right, but I didn't do a lot wrong...
I was very surprised! I thought if I could get enough speed into it and get steep enough into it, I could get it over the water and onto the green and maybe get an up and down.
Harry [Diamond] (his caddie did say to me before 'are you not worried about this bank in front of you', I said 'no I can get it over that'. Obviously it went straight into it and came straight back.
I did well and manage to get away with a bogey. I had a really good third shot, had a look at a par.
I've played with rough this long recently, but maybe not this juicy and wet. It just slows the club up so much when you go through on impact.
Rory McIlroy found himself in decent position after the first round, although it all could be worth little in the end.
The second round of the tournament has been called off after the death of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II the second and it has been speculated that the weekend's play will also be cancelled.
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