“McIlroy’s Bizarre Club Break Leads to Unbelievable Birdie – You Won’t Believe What Happened Next!”

Rory McIlroy shrugged off the unusual challenge of breaking a club mid-swing during his five-under-par 67 in the opening round of the PGA Championship at Wentworth on Thursday.

 

Despite the odd incident on the par-five 12th, where the clubhead snapped off on impact, the world number three still managed to make a birdie on the hole. It was one of seven birdies in his round, with only bogeys on the 7th and 18th preventing a clean scorecard.

 

“I hit a nine iron on the ninth and noticed the ferrule looked loose, but it turned out the clubhead was separating from the shaft,” McIlroy explained. “When I hit the shot on 12, it felt weird – like the weight of the club wasn’t there.”

 

Remarkably, McIlroy’s approach on the 12th still landed six feet from the hole, setting up his birdie. “Luckily, the ball went where I wanted it to. It could have been a lot worse,” he said.

 

McIlroy’s eventful round also included a left-handed putt, a fortunate bounce off the trees on the 17th, and an out-of-bounds approach on the 18th. Despite the drama, the four-time major champion remained focused on repeating his 2014 PGA Championship victory and closing in on a sixth DP World Tour Race to Dubai title.

 

“I’d have gladly taken five under at the start, especially with the wind picking up and the tough closing holes,” said McIlroy. “I played well – it felt like a continuation of last week.”

 

After losing by a single shot to Rasmus Hojgaard at the Irish Open, McIlroy is finding the course at Wentworth a bit more forgiving. “After playing Royal County Down, this feels like a bit of a breather with more space off the tee,” he added. “It was a solid start.”