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Rory McIlroy Under Fire After Questionable Drop In First Round Of Players Championship

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The first round of the 2024 Players Championship went about as well as you could hope for if you’re Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy fired a 7-under 65 and held a share of the lead with Xander Schauffele when he walked off the course at TPC Sawgrass.

But it wasn’t without controversy. Particularly, McIlroy caught heat for a questionable drop after he found water with his drive on the par 4 seventh hole.

McIlroy began the hole with the solo lead at 8-under. But he snap-hooked his drive into a lake that sits to the left of the seventh fairway.

The ball bounced before finding the water, meaning that McIlroy, who believed it to have bounced above the red hazard line, dropped the ball in a flat area near the bunker for his third shot.

But playing partners Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth weren’t so sure.

Prior to McIlroy taking his third shot, Spieth approached him and stated that TV crews and fans on the hole said that the ball bounced below the hazard line.

McIlroy and his caddie then got into a spirited discussion with Spieth about where the ball actuTally bounced.

They then called in a rules official, who spoke to camera operators who said that they weren’t actually sure where the ball crossed the line.

Rory McIlroy Has Multiple Questionable Drops In Round 1 Of Players Championship

Chris Solomon of No Laying Up pointed out that McIlroy had a similar situation when McIlroy’s drive found the water on hole No. 18, his ninth of the day.

The television broadcast continued to show replays. But none of those replays actually showed where the ball bounced or went in the water.

Ultimately, McIlroy played the ball from where he initially dropped it. His third shot came up short of the green and he was unable to get up and down for bogey.

He made double bogey on the hole and moved to 6-under, one behind the lead. A birdie on the par-5 ninth hole put him back in a share of the lead.

But fans weren’t happy with the way he handled the situation on hole No. 7.

So what say you? Fair or foul by Rory McIlroy?