Rory McIlroy hit with two-shot penalty for improving his lie in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy gets two-shot penalty after first round in Abu Dhabi; Francesco Laporta leads with 62.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy was handed a two-shot penalty after his first round at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship on Thursday.

Officials ruled he improved his lie on a hole where he made double-bogey to spoil his card.

McIlroy's score of 6 at the par-4 12th hole turned into an even uglier 8.

That left him posting a 2-under 70 to be eight shots off the lead.

The lead is held by Francesco Laporta after his bogey-free round of 62.

The penalty has dented McIlroy's bid to win a record-tying eighth season-long Race to Dubai title.

The incident unfolded on the 12th hole at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

McIlroy was seen in video footage pressing his club on grass behind his ball.

The ball had rolled back down the hill and into a divot after he duffed an attempted chip onto the green.

"There's no intent. I play by the rules," said the world No. 2.

He spent time in the scorer's hut after his round discussing the incident with officials.

"I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions," he said.

McIlroy acknowledged video footage of the incident "doesn't look very good."

"I'm just trying to get a feel for the lie," he said.

"The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot."

"I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece (of grass). I don't feel like I pressed down."

"But at the same time, I don't want the perception of, like, people thinking like I got away with something, either."

"So I'm happy to take a two-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow."

The DP World Tour issued a statement explaining the ruling.

The tour pointed to Rule 8.1b(4), which "permits a player to ground their club lightly right in front of or behind the ball."

"However, a player is not allowed to press the club on the ground," the statement said.

"Having reviewed the footage, McIlroy was unable to say whether he had pressed the club on the ground or not."

"However, given his concern over perception of the footage, he was not comfortable proceeding without penalty."

"He therefore chose to apply a two-stroke penalty."

McIlroy initially fared the best of the three Race to Dubai contenders in a low-scoring first round.

Now he was tied with Eugenio Chacarra on 70, while Patrick Reed shot 74.

All were far behind Laporta.

The two-week postseason playoffs on the DP World Tour began with this event.

The sequence that led to the penalty was captured on the broadcast.

Cameras cut in as McIlroy was trying to hit the ball up a steep incline to reach the green on the 12th hole.

His first shot didn't have enough juice, causing the ball to roll all the way back down to the rough.

Once the ball came to a stop, McIlroy can be seen using his club to push down the grass just behind the ball.

The tactic worked and McIlroy did manage to reach the green on his next shot.

While it looked like a nice recovery at the time, McIlroy was eventually hit with a two-shot penalty for pressing down on the grass before that shot.

Eugenio Chacarra, who played alongside McIlroy on Thursday, said he didn't think McIlroy deserved to be penalized.

Chacarra called McIlroy "a class man" who "never tries to improve his lies or do anything."

Chacarra, however, also added that video of the incident "doesn't look great."

Chacarra said he believed the incident would "fire (McIlroy) up."

Chacarra then predicted McIlroy would "probably shoot the lowest round of the day tomorrow."

The penalty gave McIlroy a quadruple bogey on the hole.

It was easily his worst hole of the day, and the only one in which he shot worse than par.

Other than that hole, McIlroy said he thought he played pretty well.

McIlroy appeared to be in contention after carding a 4-under 68 in Thursday's opening round.

His lone blemish on the scorecard was a double bogey on the Par 4 12th hole.

But his six on the hole turned into an eight after being assessed a two-shot penalty after the round.

That resulted in a day-one total of 70, putting him eight shots back of the lead.

What unfolded on the 12th hole on day one was a nightmare even before the two-stroke penalty was assessed.

Left with just 113 yards to the flag after finding the fairway off the tee, McIlroy airmailed the green with a flip wedge in hand.

His golf ball nestled in the rough beyond the green.

From there he proceeded to leave his chip shot short of the putting surface.

He had to watch his golf ball roll back to his feet into the divot he had made seconds before.

During his pre-shot routine to hit what was his fourth shot on the hole, McIlroy placed his wedge behind the golf ball.

A close-up video of the moment clearly showed a tuft of grass not returning to its original position behind the ball.

Speaking with the media after the penalty had been assessed, McIlroy explained that rules officials had shown him video of the moment on No. 12.

The six-time major champion emphasized that he was not intentionally seeking to improve his lie.