SANDWICH, England – Following an almost perfect opening nine Saturday at The Open, Rory McIlroy stalled his Moving Day move with bogeys at Nos. 11 and 13.
On the 14th hole, after missing the fairway with his tee shot, he’d had enough.
As McIlroy’s tee shot sailed toward the rough, McIlroy cocked his iron over his shoulder and launched the club into the air, end over end, like a tomahawk. When McIlroy was asked about the moment after his round, it became a question of semantics.
“That really wasn’t a club throw,” he shrugged, “that was just a little toss.”
When asked if he was “pissed off,” McIlroy continued to play defense: “I wasn’t as pissed off as Tyrrell Hatton was yesterday,” McIlroy smiled.
Hatton, who has a history of running hot on the course, was spotted during Friday’s telecast flipping off a fan at No. 11 and snapping his gap wedge in half three holes later.
By comparison, McIlroy’s moment of frustration during the third round could, in fact, be easily qualified as a “little toss.”