SAN DIEGO – Before fleeing for the final, Rory McIlroy did not enter the video of his second shot into the 18th hole on Saturday at the Farmers Insurance Competition. With his emotional response to the video after his tour he was probably the best officers waiting.
On Saturday, McIlroy ‘s second shot went at the par-5 18th a hole came ashore in the right rough. He thought his golf ball was rooted and after telling the other players in his group he took relief, which is allowed under the Rules of Golf. None of the volunteers around McIlroy’s ball saw him.
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Earlier on Saturday, Patrick Reed had taken a similar fall for a rooted ball at No. 10 but video showed his ball kicked when he landed, raising questions about how to be established.
“I came in here yesterday after hearing about what Peter had been through on the 10th hole, kind of giving him the benefit of the doubt because I went through one similar thing on 18 what, ”said McIlroy, who closed with 73 to tie for 16th. “If a ball kicks up and comes to rest in a pitch mark or a lie that’s not the pitch signal it did, then of course it’s very difficult for it to be rooted, but I ‘felt like my ball was definitely in its own mark, it has to be, and that’s why I was so confident to take relief.’
Roddy McIlroy: ‘I never tried to get away with anything’
The video of his member kicking when he landed on No. 18 – a video that was not shown via the telecast – was released after the last round and officials ruled he did nothing wrong under Golf Rules. Officers made the same rule for Reed.
But ruling by officials did little to ease McIlroy ‘s mind. The Northern Irishman took a drop deeper than he needed to at last year’s PGA Championship because he didn’t “feel right” with the lie he would have been told.
“Like everyone out here, the worst thing about golf is being identified as someone trying to get away with something or being identified with a cheater and that’s just not the way you want your reputation to be, ”said McIlroy. “I’ve never tried to get away with anything out here. Our game is about integrity and it’s about doing the right thing. I always try to do the right thing and hope people see that. I feel like I have a reputation for that. ”