Rory McIlroy admits the vision “doesn’t look very good” but says there was no ill intent after he was handed a costly two-stroke penalty for a rules violation during the first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
McIlroy shot a two-under par 70 in the first round to be eight shots off leader Francesco Laporta.
The incident occurred on the 12th hole with McIlroy assessed a two-shot penalty when officials deemed he improved his lie.
In the video footage, McIlroy appeared to press his club behind a ball that was in a divot.
It was a horror hole for McIlroy who duffed the shot prior and recorded a double bogey six even before the penalty was added.
McIlroy, who is chasing an eighth Race to Dubai title, says he was trying to “get a feel for the lie”.
“There’s no intent. I play by the rules. But just by looking at the video, it doesn’t look very good,” the world No. 2 said.
”I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions,”
“Obviously there’s no intent. I play by the rules.
“I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece (of grass). I don’t feel like I pressed down. But at the same time, I don’t want the perception of, like, people thinking like I got away with something, either. So I’m happy to take a 2-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow.”
Reaction on social media was widely in McIlroy’s favour, with playing partner Eugenio Chacarra even jumping to the Northern Irish star’s defence.
“I said that I don’t think he improves his lie. Obviously, the referee and him thought different. Like, in the video, it doesn’t look great, but, I mean, we’ve been watching Rory for a long time, and he’s a class man and never tries to improve his lies or do anything,” Race to Dubai leader Chacarra said post-round.
The DP World Tour released a statement explaining the infraction.
“A player is not allowed to press the club on the ground,” the statement said.
“Having reviewed the footage, McIlroy was unable to say whether he had pressed the club on the ground or not.
However, given his concern over perception of the footage, he was not comfortable proceeding without penalty. He therefore chose to apply a two-stroke penalty.”
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Adam Scott is the only Aussie in the field and he has started well. Scott shot a four-under par 68 to sit 13th, six shots off the lead.
The Abu Dhabi Championship is the first tournament of a two-week DP World Tour playoff series to determine the Race to Dubai winner.