Rory McIlroy admits two-shot penalty video "doesn't look very good

Rory McIlroy says the video that led to a two-shot penalty in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship “doesn’t look very good.”

The six-time major champion accepted the ruling from officials after a review of his fourth shot on the par-4 12th hole at Yas Links.

The penalty turned his double-bogey six into a quadruple-bogey eight.

His opening round score went from four-under 68 to two-under 70.

That left him eight shots behind leader Francesco Laporta, who shot 62.

McIlroy, 37, spoke to reporters after the round and explained what happened.

“They showed me a video from 12,” he said.

“Hit my first chip shot from down on the bottom of the hill, then got up, came back down and rolled into a divot.”

His third shot had landed in a sandy divot at the bottom of a slope.

Before playing his fourth, McIlroy placed his club behind the ball to test the lie.

A close-up camera caught a piece of grass moving as he did so.

“The close-up of the camera, you can see like a little piece of grass around the divot sort of lies down as I put my club down behind the ball, and it doesn’t — I guess the grass doesn’t return back to its original position,” McIlroy said.

The DP World Tour determined that McIlroy had improved his lie by pressing down on the grass.

That is a violation of Rule 8.1b(4).

That rule permits a player “to ground their club lightly right in front of or behind the ball.”

The rule states: “Ground the club lightly means allowing the weight of the club to be supported by the grass on or above the ground surface and there is no penalty even if the lie is improved.”

But the rule adds: “However, a player is not allowed to press the club on the ground.”

The difference between grounding the club lightly and pressing down is a matter of degree.

Officials reviewed the footage after McIlroy signed his card and applied the penalty retroactively.

McIlroy did not dispute the ruling.

“Obviously there’s no intent,” he said.

“I play by the rules. I feel like this is never really — I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions.”

He acknowledged that the video looked damaging.

“But just by looking at the video, like it doesn’t look — it doesn’t look very good,” he said.

“Obviously that wasn’t my intent. I’m just trying to get a feel for the lie.”

He described the position of the ball in detail.

“The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot,” he said.

“I’m trying to feel like if I can get a 54-degree, like, onto the back of the ball, but in the process, this piece of grass has sort of laid down.”

He acknowledged the technical language of the rule.

“I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece,” he said.

“I don’t feel like I pressed down.”

But he said he did not want any lingering suspicion.

“But at the same time, I don’t want the perception of, like, people thinking I got away with something either,” he said.

“So I’m happy to take a two-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow.”

The penalty came at a crucial moment in the season.

McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title.

The Race to Dubai is the season-long points competition on the DP World Tour.

McIlroy currently trails leader Eugenio Chacarra in the standings.

Chacarra shot 70 in the opening round, the same score McIlroy ended up with after the penalty.

The two are now tied on two under par for the tournament.

McIlroy needs to make up ground over the remaining three rounds.

The incident also comes amid ongoing tension in professional golf.

McIlroy has been a vocal critic of LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed breakaway league.

Earlier this week, McIlroy backed DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings in accusing LIV of trying to “destroy” the European circuit.

McIlroy said LIV representatives had discussed wanting to destroy the European Tour during the Masters at Augusta National earlier this year.

“They took players, they took sponsors, they turned professional golf into an arms race,” McIlroy said, according to NBC Sports.

Lee Westwood, McIlroy’s former Ryder Cup teammate who now plays on LIV, disputed those claims.

Westwood told talkSPORT that he had never heard LIV players express a desire to destroy the European Tour.

Westwood noted that several LIV players had continued participating in European Tour events.

The disagreement has taken on additional significance as LIV faces a potential liquidation following the collapse of its proposed $300 million rescue deal.

But on the course, McIlroy’s focus is on the tournament at hand.

He still has three rounds to play at Yas Links.

The course is a links-style layout that opened in 2021.

It has hosted the Abu Dhabi Championship since 2022.