Bizarre scenes as spectator helps himself to Rory McIlroy’s clubs on tee
Rory McIlroy was preparing for his second round at the Scottish Open when a man walked over and started swinging his clubs. Watch the incident here
Rory McIlroy was stood on the 10th tee at Renaissance when the most remarkable thing happened.
In a video posted on social media, McIlroy was chatting to playing partner Jon Rahm and caddie Harry Diamond ahead of the second round of the Scottish Open…
A stranger then walks into shot and grabs McIlroy’s favourite driver headcover…
The headcover comes off but the driver remains in the bag so the man returns and pulls an iron instead…
The trio watch on in stunned silence as it all happens…
They then look toward – presumably – security for some sort of assistance…
The camera then pans to the man standing on the tee, where he has a couple of swings before being ushered away…
Here’s the clip in full:
One witness told The Scotsman: “When someone told him he couldn’t do that, he replied by saying ‘Why not?'”
Another said: “The players laughed it off, saying they knew he wasn’t a golfer when they saw his grip.”
The Guardian’s Ewan Murray tweeted that the 35-year-old man was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where enquiries are taking place.
Questions are now being asked about how the man managed to get as close as he did, with the closest spectator point to the 10th tee being some 30 yards away.
McIlroy, meanwhile, said: “I was surprised. But it was handled efficiently, and everything was OK.
“I had no idea who it was. Yes, there is a serious aspect to something like that, but it was handled well.”
McIlroy’s final preparation for The Open ended in a missed cut.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
