Why did Rory McIlroy confiscate a fan's phone at The Players Championship practice? Real reason explored

Rory McIlroy confiscated a fan’s phone at the 2025 Players Championship after he mocked the ace golfer's tee shot in Wednesday's (March 12) practice round. McIlroy's first shot ended up in a water hazard, and the fan yelled, 'Just like 2011 at Augusta, ' referring to the North Irishman’s poor performance a decade ago. Following that, before taking his second shot, McIlroy walked to the fan and asked to see his phone. Then, the Major winner didn't return the phone and walked away with it in his hand.

The fan recalled McIlroy's major meltdown at the 2011 Masters, where the golfer entered the fourth round with a leader position. But his triple bogeys in the last round landed him in 15th place and contributed to a major meltdown of his life. McIlroy shot two triple bogeys on the 10th and 12th holes, and apart from that, he also fired four bogeys in that round, scoring 80.

Before the fallout, Rory McIlroy scored 65 in the first round with seven birdies, and he shot 69 in the second round with four birdies. In the third round, he shot 70 with one birdie on the front nine and three on the back nine.

What are the tee times and pairings of Rory McIlroy and others for the first round of the 2025 Players Championship?

Rory McIlroy is paired with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele for the first round of the Players Championship at 1:29 pm on the first tee. Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, and Tommy Fleetwood will start after them at 1:40 pm on the first tee. Chad Ramey, C.T. Pan, and Vince Whaley have the first tee times at 7:40 am on the first tee. Here are all the tee times and pairings for the first round of the 2025 Players Championship:

Tee No. 1

7:40 a.m.→ Chad Ramey, C.T. Pan, and Vince Whaley

7:51 a.m. → Joel Dahmen, Patrick Rodgers, and Chan Kim

8:02 a.m. →Beau Hossler, Mark Hubbard, and Ben Silverman

8:13 a.m. →Rafael Campos, Davis Riley, Gary Woodland

8:24 a.m. →Joe Highsmith, Brian Campbell, and Matt McCarty

8:35 a.m. →Patton Kizzire, Lucas Glover, and Corey Conners

8:46 a.m. →Sahith Theegala, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Will Zalatoris

8:57 a.m. →Davis Thompson, Stephan Jaeger, and Tom Hoge

9:08 a.m. →Aaron Rai, Cam Davis, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout

9:19 a.m. →Robert MacIntyre, Max Homa, and Sungjae Im

9:30 a.m. →Nate Lashley, Will Gordon, and Rico Hoey

9:41 a.m. →Alejandro Tosti, Isaiah Salinda, and Aldrich Potgieter

12:45 p.m. →Doug Ghim, Ryan Fox, and Sami Valimaki

12:56 p.m. →Andrew Putnam, Charley Hoffman, and Denny McCarthy

1:07 p.m. →Daniel Berger, Min Woo Lee, and Rasmus Højgaard

1:18 p.m. →Harris English, Billy Horschel, and Justin Rose

1:29 p.m. →Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele

1:40 p.m. →Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, and Tommy Fleetwood

1:51 p.m. →Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, and Patrick Cantlay

2:02 p.m. →Nick Dunlap, Akshay Bhatia, and Tom Kim

2:13 p.m. →Harry Hall, Chris Gotterup, and Si Woo Kim

2:24 p.m. →Jhonattan Vegas, Matt Kuchar, and Adam Hadwin

2:35 p.m. →Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, and Mac Meissner

2:46 p.m. →Max McGreevy, Ryan Gerard, and Frankie Capan III

Tee No. 10

7:40 a.m. →Lanto Griffin, Andrew Novak, and David Lipsky

7:51 a.m. →Keith Mitchell, Justin Lower, and Nicolai Højgaard

8:02 a.m. →Michael Kim, Alex Smalley, and Sam Stevens

8:13 a.m. →Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman, and Tony Finau

8:24 a.m. →Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, and Justin Thomas

8:35 a.m. →Russell Henley, Shane Lowry, and Viktor Hovland

8:46 a.m. →Wyndham Clark, Jason Day, and Jordan Spieth

8:57 a.m. →Thomas Detry, Sepp Straka, and Nick Taylor

9:08 a.m. →J.T. Poston, Seamus Power, and Mackenzie Hughes

9:19 a.m. →Chris Kirk, Luke List, and Adam Svensson

9:30 a.m. →Bud Cauley, Matti Schmid, and David Skinns

9:41 a.m. →Hayden Springer, Jesper Svensson, and Will Chandler

12:45 p.m. →Henrik Norlander, Victor Perez, and Ben Kohles

12:56 p.m. →Eric Cole, Ben Griffin, and Max Greyserman

1:07 p.m. →J.J. Spaun, Jacob Bridgeman, and Chandler Phillips

1:18 p.m. →Emiliano Grillo, Byeong Hun An, and Adam Schenk

1:29 p.m. →Taylor Pendrith, Peter Malnati, and Kurt Kitayama

1:40 p.m. →Brice Garnett, Matthieu Pavon, and Camilo Villegas

1:51 p.m. →Austin Eckroat, Jake Knapp, and Taylor Moore

2:02 p.m. →Nico Echavarria, Kevin Yu, and Erik van Rooyen

2:13 p.m. →Karl Vilips, Sam Burns, and Cameron Young

2:24 p.m. →K.H. Lee, Carson Young, and Patrick Fishburn

2:35 p.m. →Trey Mullinax, Ryo Hisatsune, and Laurie Canter

2:46 p.m. →Kris Ventura, Kevin Roy, and Jackson Suber

( All times in ET)