Rory McIlroy has sparked a mixed reaction on social media after he was filmed taking a fan’s phone after heckling in the crowd at The Players Championship in Florida on Tuesday.
The golfer was playing a practice round at TPC Sawgrass in a bid to win golf’s ‘fifth major’ this week for the first time since 2019.
Things did not go as planned, however, when he sent his first tee shot into the water.
That prompted one fan to yell “just like 2011 at Augusta” referencing the Co Down man’s meltdown at the Masters 14 years ago.
Once McIlroy had returned to the tee box and hit his second shot, he walked over to a fan with the club still in his hand and asked to see their phone.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy took the phone out of the fan’s hand, looked through it and then walked away with it still in his possession.
The fan looked shocked and it remains unclear what happened to the phone once the footage ends.
A video of the incident was shared on X on the NUCLRGOLF page, with some fans defending McIlroy’s decision, and others not so much.
One said: “Right or wrong… Rory’s move was Big Alpha on this guy. It should also spark a bigger convo on “fans” thinking a ticket allows them to say anything they want—it doesn’t.”
Another said: “Though Rory didn’t need to do that, fans should be held to a way higher standard. The crowds are devolving at an alarming rate.”
Others, however, weren’t so forgiving of the golfer’s move.
“Fan should not have said that. But Rory taking the phone was Petty,” said one commenter on X.