Rory McIlroy ducks heckling-fan questions at Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Despite an uncooperative game off the tee, Rory McIlroy’s first round at the 2025 Players Championship went off without much interference from either TPC Sawgrass or chirpy fans along the rope line, which is more than can be said for the start of his week.

McIlroy hit just four fairways on Thursday but wound up making seven birdies to card an opening-round 5-under-par 67. After his round, the four-time major champion was not interested in discussing his most notable early-week moment, when he confronted a heckling fan after a wayward tee shot during Tuesday’s practice round.

“No you can’t,” McIlroy said Thursday when a reporter asked if he could inquire about the incident.

And why not?

“Because I don’t want you to,” McIlroy said while laughing.

On Tuesday, McIlroy arrived at the par-4 18th hole alongside friend Shane Lowry and tugged his tee shot left and into the water. The University of Texas men’s golf team was in attendance, and one of its players, Luke Potter, took a dig at McIlroy, jabbing him over his famed snap hook on the 10th tee at Augusta National during the 2011 Masters that led to a triple-bogey and a final-round 80. A social media video showed McIlroy taking the phone of Potter’s teammate, who was standing next to Potter. Potter was asked to leave the property.

“With regards to our University of Texas program, I mean it’s an embarrassing moment,” Texas coach John Fields told GOLF.com of the incident. “It is particularly sensitive to me because our program is built on respect for the game, and I would tell you that we coach 18- to 22-year-olds on a normal basis and they don’t always make the right call, and that’s my responsibility as a coach and when they do make a mistake, it’s a learning moment.”

Potter spoke to Golf Channel and said he regretted chirping the world No. 2.

“Look, I just made a mistake, and I take ownership for it,” Potter told GolfChannel.com. “I apologize for it. That’s about all that needs to be said. … It’s just a good learning experience. Yeah, I apologize.”

Asked if he was surprised to learn his heckler was a collegiate player, McIlroy evaded like he was dodging a hazard around Pete Dye’s famed arena.

“I’m really happy that I shot 67 today,” McIlroy said.

With that, the story that buzzed around TPC Sawgrass at the onset of the week faded and McIlroy turned his attention to more pressing matters as he hunts for his second Players Championship title.

“Sort of rode my luck out there a little bit,” McIlroy said of his first round. “Just sort of hitting this cut sort of up into the wind, and obviously, you don’t need to hit it too far here, so yeah, just going to go hit some balls here and figure it out and try to hit a few more fairways tomorrow.”