Rory McIlroy was assessed a two-shot penalty for taking an improper drop on the par-5 seventh hole at Spyglass Hill during Thursday’s first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
As a result, McIlroy’s bogey was changed to a triple-bogey 8.
McIlroy was 6 under through 14 holes – and leading the tournament – before he gave several shots back on his final four holes, Nos. 6-9. He also bogeyed Nos. 6 and 8.
At the seventh, McIlroy’s tee shot finished underneath a tree, from which he decided to take a penalty drop. But he did not drop on the proper line.
On-site rules official Mark Dusbabek explained the reason for the penalty during Golf Channel’s coverage.
“When the rules changed in 2023, you still go back of the line from the flagstick, where the ball is. However, you have to drop it on that line and it can roll in any direction, even forward, one club length. Rory, from that line, dropped one club length to the side which makes it a wrong place, and a two-stroke penalty,” Dusbabek said. “Rory was met in scoring by our chief referee over there, Stephen Cox, and he totally owned the mistake. Very professional about it.”
With the penalty, McIlroy signed for a 1-under 71 and was seven shots off the early lead in the Tour’s second signature event of the season.
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