So far, Rory McIlroy is having a rollercoaster of a FedEx Cup Playoffs campaign.
The three-time champion finished just two places off the foot of the leaderboard at the FedEx St Jude Championship and there was more frustration on Friday at the BMW Championship when a poor drive on 17th led to him throwing his club into the water.
Now, the 35-year-old has suffered another driver issue at the Castle Pines Golf Club event in the form of a snapped shaft in a freak accident during the final round.
McIlroy hit a wayward tee shot right on the ninth hole, and as he bent over to collect his tee, he leaned on his driver, which caused it to snap.
Rory Mcilroy has snapped another driver 😂Threw it in the water yesterday. Bad week to be a driver around Rory pic.twitter.com/66YQ4456VtAugust 25, 2024
McIlroy's difficulties at the hole didn’t finish there. His ball had come to a standstill on a grass verge inches from a creek, which left him needing to remove his shoes and socks and stand in the water to take his shot.
That’s when his luck began to turn as he hit a beautiful effort to the green to leave a birdie chance, although in the end he settled for par.
Rory on the rocks! An impressive balancing act from @McIlroyRory. https://t.co/swKLs0kxxS pic.twitter.com/85R91TUnCjAugust 25, 2024
McIlroy wasn’t the only player to suffer driver issues in the final round at the event. Earlier in the day, Matt Fitzpatrick was refused the chance to replace his driver after he found a crack in the face of it at the eighth tee.
The Englishman called over a rules official to examine the crack, but the damage wasn’t deemed serious enough to warrant replacement.
Matt Fitzpatrick, 36th in the FedExCup entering the week, called for a ruling for a driver crack.Under the USGA’s Model Local Rule G-9, a club is not replaceable solely because of a crack, and he was not permitted to replace it at the time due to lack of significant damage. pic.twitter.com/X5kEPkee1qAugust 25, 2024
Fitzpatrick eventually finished one-under for the tournament, heading back to the clubhouse in T28 - not enough to force his way into the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings and make it to next week’s Tour Championship.
As for McIlroy, despite his frustrations in the FedEx Cup Playoffs so far, he is assured of his place at the lucrative East Lake tournament as he is currently sixth in the standings.
