Tensions appear to be bubbling over at the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado.
Scottie Scheffler made headlines for an uncharacteristically angry outburst after misjudging a wedge shot on Friday, and Rory McIlroy has his own frustrations manifest in physical form, resulting in a club toss into the water.
On the par-5 17th hole at Castle Pines, which requires a carry over water directly in front of the tee, McIlroy elected to hit a fairway wood. The shot traveled 294 yards into the rough right of the fairway. As two voices called out “Fore right!” McIlroy uncoiled from his finish position and coolly tossed his club right into the water, creating a visible splash.
While simply missing the fairway off the tee doesn’t seem like a punishable offense for McIlroy’s 3-wood, the broadcast team provided some context. McIlroy has just three-putted for bogey from 45 feet on the previous hole, the par-3 16th — his second bogey of the day. And on No. 17, a reachable par-5, hitting a drive into the rough isn’t ideal if a player wants a good look at birdie or better.
Like Scheffler, whose audible outburst on Friday followed a water ball and a misjudged wedge from the drop zone, there was more than one factor in play for McIlroy’s club toss into the water.
Luckily for McIlroy, the club didn’t fully submerge and was retrievable at the water’s edge. After picking up his tee, McIlroy calmly collected the club and handed it to his caddie. He managed to par the hole, too.
At three under par overall, McIlroy is currently T15 at the BMW Championship’s halfway point, and if his position doesn’t improve over the next two rounds, he’s currently projected to drop from No. 5 to No. 8 in the FedEx Cup points standings headed into next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake.