Rory McIlroy's quest to win the unofficial fifth major at The Players Championship at Sawgrass got off to a disastrous opening.
McIlroy, champion here in 2019, was one of the early starters on day one in Florida in ideal conditions alongside Spain's Jon Rahm and American Scottie Scheffler.
The star-studded group began at the 10th hole where McIlroy carded a double bogey and already his frustrations were evident in front of a large gallery of spectators.
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A birdie on the next hole eased the tension somewhat but McIlroy then bogeyed the par four 15th. He would have identified the par five 16th as an opportunity to gain some ground on the field but a poor tee shot led to his frustration bubbling over.
The Holywood man very clearly yelled 'f***' with the ball in the air and veering off to the right of the fairway with Sky Sports quickly apologising for the comments just after lunchtime.
Sky commentator Andrew Coltart said, "apologies there if you heard any frustration creeping out there from McIlroy."
Thankfully McIlroy avoided the water on the iconic 17th hole at Sawgrass where the green is surrounded by a lake.
McIlroy came into the event on something of a high having finished second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend.
The Northern Irishman had arrived at the PGA Tour’s flagship event seeking a return to the world number one spot, but little went right for him on day one after beginning with a double bogey.
Playing the back nine first, he regained a stroke with a birdie at the 11th but further bogeys on the 15th, first and third left him well behind the early leaders Collin Morikawa and Chad Ramey on six under.
McIlroy did produce some magic to set up an eagle chance with a fine shot from under the trees wide of the 16th fairway, but he then three-putted to squander the opportunity.
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