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Rory McIlroy took a swing during the ongoing FedEx St. Jude championship that didn't go as planned. His drive was headed straight for the trees, which can be a death sentence on a hole, as it usually means extra strokes and potential penalties.
McIlroy flinched as soon as he hit the shot because he knew something wasn't right. However, the ball fortunately bounced off a tree branch and was knocked back into the field of play. The crowd reacted with cheers at McIlroy's good fortune.
Here is a video of the incident:
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As per the PGA Tour's Twitter post, McIlroy's drive travelled 326 yards, with some help from the tree. The Northern Irish golfer is known for the distance he gets on his drive and has the highest average distance on the Tour (325.8 yards) in the 2022-23 season.
The announcers estimated that the tree helped the ball travel 40 yards further down the fairway. It's extremely rare that a golf course's surroundings come to a golfer's aid in this manner.
McIlroy is currently two under par through 10 holes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He would likely be over par if the tree hadn't helped him.
Rory McIlroy balancing high expectations in the FedEx St. Jude Championship
It was another excellent season for Rory McIlroy, whose OWGR ranking fluctuated between number one and three throughout the campaign. The 34-year-old golfer is currently ranked second, right in the middle of Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm.
Heading into play, McIlroy said he was treating the next few events as a massive tournament that he needs to do well in. He said (via ESPN):
"I sort of treat it like a 12-round tournament. You've got 12 rounds to play, and you're trying to go out there and get the best out of yourself for those 12 days. If you're up there in the standings, at least you know you've got a little bit of wiggle room."
"But yeah, every week you want to go out there and play well. I think at the end of the day, going into the Tour Championship, if you're sort of within four of the lead starting on Thursday, I think you're in a really good spot."
Talking about the new putter he will be using in the FedEx Cup, McIlroy said:
"Honestly, I just wanted a different look, just wanted to freshen it up. I've got my Spider with me this week if that putter isn't doing what I want it to do over the first couple days. I may go back."
