MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rory McIlroy survived a bizarre encounter with a banana peel stuck in a tree at the Australian Open on Saturday to shoot a 3-under 68.
His round left him nine strokes behind Danish player Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who made a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 66 and 54-hole total of 14-under 199.
Cam Smith, the 2022 British Open champion who ended his streak missed seven consecutive cuts this year on Friday he also shot 66 on Saturday and was tied for second, two strokes behind.
On the par-4 second hole, McIlroy missed the fairway on the right and his ball landed under a small tree and under a banana peel that had apparently been thrown by a spectator.
Golfers may move loose impediments as long as the player’s ball does not move. If the ball has shifted as a result of an attempt to move a loose object, the player receives a penalty.
So McIlroy tried in vain to hit his ball through the banana peel and branches and back onto the fairway. But he only traveled about 30 feet and he ended up making a double bogey six.
“It was kind of a double whammy: it was in the hard grass and under a banana peel,” McIlroy said. “But I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
Josh Chadwick via Getty Images
Josh Chadwick via Getty Images
The Northern Irishman birdied the next hole and after another bogey and birdie to complete the front nine, shot a 1-over 35.
On the back nine, often played in a steady drizzle, McIlroy had four birdies, including on the last two holes, as he had done Friday, when he also 68.
“I didn’t get off to a great start, but from then on I played well,” said McIroy, who made five birdies in his last 10 holes on Saturday.
“I’ll probably be too far behind to challenge tomorrow,” he added. “But I’d like to see the course get firmer and firmer… and if it does, I think I can go out and shoot something really low, 8 or 9 under.”
McIlroy, whose pre-tournament press conference including commentary that Royal Melbourne was not the best sand belt course in the city, had a wild opening round on Thursday with six bogeys and five birdies.
McIlroy, the winner of the Race to Dubai and who completed his career Grand Slam when he won the Masters this year, he makes his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015. He won it in 2013.
The winner of the Australian Open, the second event on the European tour’s new tournament schedule for the end of this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not yet exempt will qualify for the 2026 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
AP wave: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
