McIlroy falls into hole-in-one

America Former world number one Rory McIlroy double bogeys on hole 8 of round 2 - where he scored an ace in round 1 of the Travelers Championship at the par70 TPC River Highlands course in Connecticut.

In the second round on June 23, McIlroy started at hole 10, making eight birdies and no bogeys through 16 holes. He entered the par-3 hole 8, using an 8-iron with a tee position of 177 yards from the flag. But the ball went into a water hazard in front of the green. On a replay with a penalty stroke, McIlroy hit the ball seven yards from the target and took two more putts to finish.

"On the previous holes, I had hit 175 yards with the 8-iron, so I continued to use it for the penultimate hole. If it went well, I would have hit the ball between the front edge of the green and the flag. However, this intention did not work out because the wind suddenly changed direction," McIlroy explained the mistake that led to the penultimate hole.

McIlroy in round 2 of the Travelers Championship. Photo: Sky Sports — McIlroy in round 2 of the Travelers Championship. Photo: *Sky Sports*

This result is a complete reversal of the first round, when the organizers set the 8th hole to be 214 yards long. With that distance, McIlroy used a 5-iron to score a hole-in-one. It was his first ace in 13 years of playing on the PGA Tour with 3,253 par-3 holes.

Yesterday, a double bogey on the 8th put McIlroy down to -6. He kept par on the 9th, also thanks to luck. At the final pin of the round with a fairway that elbowed right, the A-list star on the PGA Tour cut through the trees on the same side to get closer to the green. That attempt failed, and the ball got caught in the cable carrying the TV signal.

McIlroy was given relief from the referee, with the new spot in the rough 55 yards from the flag. But his second shot was only 34 yards and hit the tree in front. However, the Northern Irishman still finished the hole after chipping into the green and putting one meter from the hole.

The par on hole 9 helped McIlroy jump 36 places to T10 with a score of -8, while the top position at -15 belongs to Denny McCarthy and Keegan Bradley. The next leading position is two strokes behind.

McCarthy tees off on the 18th hole during round 2 of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 23. Photo: AP

The 2023 Travelers Championship has a $20 million prize fund as it is upgraded to a special status on the PGA Tour calendar, bringing together 38 faces in the world's top 50, including eight players in the top 10. The tournament was inaugurated in 1952, and McIlroy has never finished in the top 10 in four matches in the past seven years.

McIlroy is 34 years old and has been playing professionally since 2007. Three years later, he joined the PGA Tour, and has won four majors in 23 cups with a total prize money of approximately 75.17 million USD and accumulated 122 weeks at the top of the world professional golf rankings.

Last weekend, McIlroy competed in the US Open and missed the opportunity. ended nine years of thirst for a prestigious cup since the fourth one, at the 2014 PGA Championship.

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