Fans are livid with Rory McIlroy seemingly taking too long during a putt attempt, with some claiming the golf star took longer than 10 seconds to approach his ball before it fell into a hole
Golf fans are upset with Rory McIlroy following a controversial choice made by him on the first day of the Valero Texas Open.
McIlroy appeared to take more than 10 seconds to take a shot during one of his attempts to putt after the ball was left hanging on the edge of the hole.
The USGA’s rule 13.3 states that if any part of the ball is overhanging the lip of the hole, the player is given a “reasonable time” to reach the hole and an additional 10 seconds to see if the ball will drop.
During the waiting period, if the ball drops into the hole, it means the golfer has successfully completed the previous stroke. If the ball does not fall into the hole during the waiting period, it is considered to be stationary.
Should the ball drop before it is played, the golfer will have holed out with the previous stroke but will get a one-stroke penalty added to their score. Many golf fans believe that McIlroy should have been penalised for seemingly taking his time to get to his ball and surpassing the 10-second timer.
“That was 12 seconds,” a fan wrote after seeing the clip of McIlroy’s putt. “More than the allotted 10 seconds. Better go back and assess a one stroke penalty like they did to Austin Eckroat two weeks ago.”
“I mean, I’m all for this counting (because DUH) but pretty sure Si Woo had this happen a couple years ago and was told after 10 seconds that it was a one stroke penalty,” another fan wrote.
By and large, many fans have been noting that the golf star took longer than 10 seconds to get to his ball, with some going even as far as to say that the 34-year-old “cheated.” Still, no definitive time was announced, as many fans debated how long the ball actually stayed on the lip, with guesses ranging from nine to 15 seconds.
At any rate, McIlroy is looking to get back to the level of competition he knows he can compete at. After not playing at the Houston Open or the Valspar Championship due to struggles at The Players, McIlroy revealed he met with Tiger Woods’s former coach Butch Harmon to get back on track.
“I met Butch when I was 14 years old, so we’ve always had a good relationship. If there’s one guy that I want to go and get a second opinion from, it’s him,” McIlroy said before the Texas Open. “After The Players and struggling through that Florida Swing with my swing and with some of the misses I was having with my irons, I just thought to myself, ‘I’m obviously missing something here.'”
McIlroy mentioned that his discussions with Harmon were beneficial and that his words had a strong impact on him.
He stated that Harmon made a couple of statements
that really struck a chord with him.
McIlroy explained that the advice Harmon gave him was similar to what his coach, Michael Bannon, had been telling him, but Harmon phrased it in a way that resonated more with McIlroy. “It was a very valuable journey, and I believe I have accomplished meaningful tasks during it.
Like I mentioned before, this week is a good opportunity to assess the progress I have made.”