“Rory violates rule 10.2b(4) here” – Fan cries foul in Rory McIlroy’s incredible bunker shot in round 1 of The Open 2023

Royal Liverpool delivered what it had promised on Day 1 of The Open Championship 2023. The par-5 18th hole at Hoylake saw some of the most unusual scenes in recent majors, thus proving why links golf is special.

One of the victims of the course design was four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, who found himself struggling in the pot bunker.

McIlroy and Masters champion Jon Rahm saw their balls get stuck in the bunker after hitting their approach shots a bit long. Both of them ended up in two of Hoylake’s devilish greenside pot bunkers and were forced to play a third shot to correct their mistakes.

In the attempt to get himself out of the bunker, McIlroy was seen mounting his left leg over the lip and making the difficult shot. However, a fan has since come out to cry foul in the shot.

According to a Twitter user with the handle @603_brown, ‘Rory McIlroy violated rule 10.2b(4)’ with the shot. The user went on to explain that the rule denotes a player’s caddie must not deliberately stand on or close to the extension of the line of play behind the ball during play.

However, the video shared by the user showed the Irishman’s caddie Harry Diamond moving around while he prepares for the shot.

Sharing a video of Rory McIlroy's bunker shot on his Twitter handle, user @603_brown wrote:

“Rory violates rule 10.2b(4) here. ‘Once player begins taking stance and until stroke is made, player’s caddie must not deliberately stand on or close to extension of line of play behind ball for any reason.’”

It is pertinent to note that McIlroy managed a decent shot from the tough angle and put the ball within 10 feet of the hall. While the rule mentioned by the user is valid, it wasn’t raised by officials in this case. In the video, Caddie Diamond seems to have noticed something and came near McIlroy to observe and walked away.

Even in the posts’ comment sections, fans were divided. While many disregarded the claim, a few others backed it. While one user pointed out that the case doesn’t stand as the caddie moved out before the player decided his stance, another said that it didn’t count for a shot in the bunker and not the greens.

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Rory McIlroy on making bunker shots

Rory McIlroy managed to play a good shot to save him from the pot bunker on Thursday at The Open. The golfer, who was far behind the leaders on Day 1, managed a decent T31 finish owing to his strong shot. Opening up on the art of making bunker shots, the PGA Tour star said that it ‘sort of rides on the players’ luck.’

Rory McIlroy said, as quoted by Golf Digest:

“When you hit it into these bunkers, you're sort of riding your luck at that point and hoping it's not up against one of those rivetted faces. Jon and I didn't have much of a shot with our thirds, so then you're just starting to try to make par somehow. I’d have been pretty disappointed to walk off with bogey after the two shots I hit in there.”

Explaining his play, the 2014 Open champion at Hoylake further added:

“I needed to stay patient out there; it wasn't the easiest of days. I was probably hoping for a little bit more at the start of the day, but as I got out there and the conditions got a bit tougher [my expectations dropped].”

However, the ace golfer managed to stay in contention. McIlroy, looking to end his nine-year major championship drought this weekend, seems to be finding a solid stance at Royal Liverpool.