"He’s still recovering from being assaulted"-Fans after Rory McIlroy slips on the greens at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Rory McIlroy is competing at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is underway from March 2 to March 5. The tournament kickstarted with the inaugural round on Thursday, March 2 with Jon Rahm taking the lead.
However, what caught people's attention was Rory McIlroy, who slipped on the greens while hitting the ball. McIlroy hit a shot and the ball went straight into the hole. However, when he bent to pick up the ball, he lost balance and slipped on the greens.
The PGA Tour shared a video with a caption saying:
"The greens at the Bay Hill are no joke."
Fans certainly found it pretty funny and commented:
"Down grain effect right here."
Others wrote asking Rory McIlroy to take a break for a while. One user wrote:
"Give him a break. It's hard to carry the tour on your back."
Another jotted:
"He lost balance? Okay."
While a user recalled the tee incident from the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic and commented:
"He's still recovering from being assaulted with a tee. Prayers for Rory!"
For the uninitiated, Rory McIlroy started the new year by winning the Dessert Classic in Dubai. However, besides his win, his fight with LIV Golf player Patrick Reed turned out to be the most highlighted incident from the tournament.
Rory and Reed have not been on good terms following the latter joining the LIV Golf. So, when Patrick came to greet him at the Dubai Desert Classic, the former World No.1 completely ignored him, resulting in Patrick throwing a tee ball at the ground which apparently moved towards Rory.
Rory McIlroy had a slow start at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Rory McIlroy had a phenomenal start to the new year. For the first time in his career, he started the new year with a win. The Northern Irish golfer won the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic in February and secured his World No.1 title.
However, soon after, Scottie Scheffler successfully defended the WM Phoenix Open and dethroned McIlroy from the top spot before losing it to Jon Rahm a week later.
Rahm, McIlroy, and Scheffler have been battling to secure the No.1 spot for a year now. They are playing at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational where Rahm is running to clinch the fourth title in 2023.
Rahm topped the tally after the opening round while McIlroy had a slow start to the tournament. He is nine shots behind the leader after the first round.
The current World No.3 had a disappointing start to the event, finishing 66th after the opening round with a score of 1.
Rahm finished the first round with a scoring deficit of seven and led the tally by two shots. Chris Kirk, who recently won the 2023 Honda Classic, secured second position alongside Cameron Young and Kurt Kitayama.
It is pertinent to note that Jon Rahm has won three PGA Tournaments in 023. He started the new year with a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and then won the American Express title.
Last week, he won the Genesis Invitational and reclaimed the World No.1 title. He is now in the running for his fourth win at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational.