Rory McIlroy had a bit of a shock at the BMW PGA Championship when he smacked another crisp iron at Wentworth only to see the head come flying off his club.
The Northern Irishman hit a beautiful second shot on the par-five 12th at Wentworth, which found the green and set him up for an eagle putt just inside 10 feet.
The shot was even more remarkable given that McIlroy suffered a shock when he ended up with an iron in his hands missing the head.
Caddie Harry Diamond was then seen looking bemused as he studied the club and the head and wondering just what had gone on.
McIlroy, who also had to use the back of his putter to play a left-handed shot during his eventful round, signed for a five-under 67 to get off to a great start in the DP World Tour's flagship event.
"I don't think it's ever happened to me before," said McIlroy. "Obviously a very weird feeling through impact. I looked up and the club head caught my eye instead of the golf ball. So I completely lost where the golf ball was. Didn't know where it went.
"But I was just looking somewhere around the green and saw the ball fall just right of the pin and go up there and go pretty close.
"Fortunately, it didn't impact the shot too much. But I got it repaired and had it back on 16. Thankfully didn't need it for any of the holes in between.
"It was just one of those things. I hit 9-iron on the ninth hole, and I looked at it and looked at if the barrel was coming loose, but it was actually the head detaching from the shaft.
"Yeah, it was a bit of a weird feeling. I hit, and you know, obviously you're expecting the weight of the club to just pull through and there was nothing there."
After a trademark McIlroy drive, he was left with just 178 yards to the flag on the 12th, so it was only a short iron that he had coming in - but it was left even shorter after the head came flying off.
McIlroy still managed to play a brilliant shot, and was then in stitches laughing down the fairway as he walked to collect the missing piece of his club with a huge smile on his face.
"I only got all my irons re-glued at East Lake," McIlroy told TV commentator Wayne Riley as he chuckled along with a group of onlookers following the bizarre incident.
Watch below for the clip that's sure to be played again and again over the next few days...
Have you ever seen this before? 🤯Rory McIlroy's club head comes off after impact...#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/eaF51JCvBySeptember 19, 2024
McIlroy did not make the eagle putt but it was a simple two-putt birdie as he continued a fine start to his first round on Thursday.
McIlroy handed the club over to a referee on the 13th tee, with it then no doubt being whisked off to the TaylorMade tour truck to get fixed - as he's allowed to make repairs to any club that's damaged during the round.
McIlroy's mysterious clubhead malfunction took most of the headlines away from him also having to use the back of his putter and play left handed on the eighth hole.
"Hopefully no more left-handed this week," he added. "Yeah, it was up against the sort of collar there where that water hazard is on the 8th hole, and didn't really have a stance hitting it right-handed.
"Hit a left-handed putt. Did a decent job. At least I got the speed pretty much correct. I didn't get the line right, but knocked that one in, made par and very swiftly moved to the 9th tee, pretty happy."
