Rory McIlroy Defends His Hilarious Bunker Tantrum At The US Open

Former world number one Rory McIlroy let his emotions get the better of him when facing a tough bunker shot in the first round of the US Open.

The Northern Irish golfer found himself in a pretty difficult situation on the fifth hole at The Country Club, with his ball wedged in the high grass on the edge of the sand.

Clearly uncomfortable with his positioning, McIlroy attempted to prepare himself for a tricky shot.

As he swung with hope, his ball painfully went from one bunker into another, landing in the sand yet again.

Hilarious viewing, but obviously not for McIlroy who proceeded to swing his club violently into the sand with two harsh whacks in a clearly emotional outburst.

I mean, you can’t completely blame the lad, I think many of us would struggle to keep our frustrations in check at that point. 

We’ve all been there - if anything it makes the golfer feel even more relatable.

In a separate incident in the 18th fairway, he botched his shot sending the ball bouncing through a bunker into the rough. 

The golfer proceeded to hurl his club into the air. 

The 2011 US Open winner defended his reaction following the first round, explaining that the trademark dense roughs of the US Open can trigger some passionate feelings.

He said: “The margins are just so fine in this tournament and I think you can sort of see that out there with some of the reactions.

“Some of these reactions that maybe you saw out there today, whether it be hitting the sand on five or the club throw on nine, you just have to be so precise and so exact at this golf tournament maybe compared to some others that any little thing that doesn’t quite go right, you’re sort of putting yourself behind the 8-ball.”

McIlroy finished the opening round with a three-under-par 67 opening round to put himself in tied second position behind Adam Hadwin. 

He later referenced his blow-up with the sand.

He said: “I gave the sand a couple of whacks because I’d already messed it up so it wasn’t like it was much more work for Harry (Diamond, his caddie) and then I just reset played a decent bunker shot, and then it was really nice to hole that putt.

“You’re going to encounter things this week that you don’t usually come across the other weeks of the year and you just have to try to accept them as best you can.”