WATCH: Rory McIlroy agonizingly misses putt at Tour Championship

Rory McIlroy is currently playing the second round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. The Northern Irishman has accumulated three birdies without a single bogey through the 15th hole, but his round has been somewhat affected by a touch of misfortune.

McIlroy had a close call for a birdie on the 2nd hole, narrowly missing a 29-foot putt that stopped just an inch away from falling into the hole. The PGA Tour shared a video of the moment on X (formerly Twitter), which quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of views within an hour.

McIlroy's misfortune was not confined to the second hole; in fact, it stretched across three consecutive holes. On the second hole, he missed a 14-foot birdie putt by just an inch.

The same unfortunate scenario played out on the third hole, where McIlroy's 9-foot birdie putt stopped just four inches short of the hole. It wasn't until the 4th hole that McIlroy finally made his first birdie of the round, when he holed a 25-foot putt.

These plays have undoubtedly brought to mind some of McIlroy's most heartbreaking moments as a golfer. His two-foot putt at the U.S. Open, which would have forced a playoff with Bryson DeChambeau, and his missed 1-foot, 6-inch putt at the 2024 Dubai Invitational, which cost him the victory against Tommy Fleetwood, are just two examples.

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Rory McIlroy's TOUR Championship performance at a glance

Rory McIlroy started the TOUR Championship in sixth place on the FedEx Cup leaderboard, which gave him a starting score of 4-under par. However, his performance has seen him slip down the standings.

In the first round at East Lake, McIlroy carded four birdies and two bogeys to move to 6 under. He finished the first 18 holes in a tie for 10th place, 10 shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler. In the second round, McIlroy birdied the 4th, 6th and 14th holes with no bogeys. His score for the event is 9 under through 15, and he is currently tied for 6th place with Tony Finau, Taylor Pendrith, and Sam Burns.

McIlroy entered the FedEx Cup playoffs tied for third, behind Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. However, a disappointing performance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship resulted in a significant drop in his ranking. McIlroy's performance at the TPC Southwind was far from impressive, as he finished in a tie for 68th place after shooting 9-over par in his final three rounds.

The 35-year-old showed improvement a week later at the BMW Championship, finishing in a tie for 11th place on 6-under par at Castle Pines Golf Club. However, this performance only earned him a share of sixth place in the FedEx Cup standings, three places lower than his position two weeks prior.

McIlroy holds the record for the most FedEx Cup wins, with three victories to his name.