Every day, Rory McIlroy amazes everyone with his amazing golf skills.
Even though the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona on Thursday wasn’t very exciting, the world No. 1 found a way to add another amazing shot to his almost never-ending highlight reel.
Back-to-back bogeys on either side of the turn at TPC Scottsdale put the Northern Irishman at one over par when he got to the 11th hole. His problems got worse when his 337-yard tee shot went over the path on the right side of the fairway.
The ball ended up stuck in the dirt near a metal fence, which was a sad sight to see. Most golfers would have been happy to just get back on the fairway if they didn’t have much room to swing.
But McIlroy has shown over and over that he is not like most golfers. The four-time major winner swung his pitching wedge and hit the ball through a line of people and trees. The ball landed on the green just over 40 feet from the hole.
People in the crowd gasped in shock, and so did people on social media. The PGA Tour tweeted a video of the shot with the caption “Are you kidding?”
“Rory McIlroy just made a shot that I was pretty sure was impossible,” Sky Sports golf reporter Jamie Weir wrote on Twitter.
During the first round, McIlroy was out on the course. – Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
After that, McIlroy tapped in for four to get a par, which he was more than happy with considering how bad things were going for him.
The 33-year-old told reporters, “It looked like I didn’t have a backswing, but I didn’t know the angle, like how far right the green really was.”
“I was lucky that I could hit the tee shot, but I hit a great shot and was happy to get a par,” he said.
McIlroy got a two-over 73 after making his fourth bogey of the day on the 16th hole. This put him in a tie for 82nd place, seven shots behind Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, who played well in windy Scottsdale.
McIlroy has finished in the top four in seven straight PGA Tour and DP World Tour events. He started the year by winning the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which was very emotional for him.
The best player in the world knows that he is at the top of his game. McIlroy was asked before the tournament if he thought he was the best player in the world. His answer was short and to the point.
“Yes,” was his answer.
When asked to say more, McIlroy said, “Because I do. I’m doing a good job. I feel like I’ve been as consistent as I’ve ever been in my career. I said at the end of last year that I felt like the most complete player I’d ever been. If you just look at my statistics, there aren’t any big problems that stand out. I’ve worked hard on that to try to become a more well-rounded player.”
