Rory McIlroy refused to comment on being heckled by a US college player and confiscating his phone after opening with a 67 to lie just a shot off the lead in The Players Championship.
The world number two made up for a bad day with the driver with a hot putter and a miraculous closing birdie to outscore world number one Scottie Scheffler (69) by two and reigning PGA and Open champion Xander Schauffele (72) by five as he raced home in 32.
He finished spectacularly, cutting a low running 162-yard five iron off the pine needles right of the 18th to seven feet before brushing in the putt to end his day just one behind leaders Lucas Glover, JJ Spaun and Camilo Villegas.
But when asked after his round whether he knew that the fan who heckled him during Tuesday’s practice round was University of Texas player Luke Potter, he refused to comment.
“No, you can’t,” McIlroy joked with a reporter after being asked if he could ask about the incident. “Because I don’t want you to (laughing).”
While the heckle was not caught on camera, a social media video showed him walking towards a fan and asking, “Can I see your phone?” before taking it and walking away.
It was alleged a fan had said: “Just like 2011 at Augusta,” referring to McIlroy’s 2011 Masters meltdown, after he hooked his tee shot at the 18th into water.
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The alleged heckler turned out to be University of Texas player Luke Potter, who later apologised in a call with Golf Channel after McIlroy had him ejected from the grounds and took what turned out to be his teammate’s phone.
“Look, I just made a mistake, and I take ownership for it,” said Potter, who had claimed his first NCAA individual victory the day before the McIlroy incident in The Hayt at nearby Sawgrass Country Club.
“I apologise for it. That’s about all that needs to be said. … It’s just a good learning experience. Yeah, I apologise.”
Asked if he was surprised to learn his heckler was a good college player, McIlroy opted to declare the matter closed and said, “I’m really happy that I shot 67 today.”
He had every reason to be happy as he hit just four fairways but ranked third for his approach play and ninth for putting.
“I didn’t hit a lot of fairways,” McIlroy said. “I’m trying to hit like a cut shot off the tee because it doesn’t really get you in a lot of trouble here.
“If you miss right off those tee shots, you’re going to be okay. I was trying to just cut it into play, and I didn’t do it very well, but anytime I did miss a fairway, I either had a gap or a shot, or I could do something with it.
“So I’m not going to be able to ride my luck like that the rest of the week. So I’ll hit some balls here and try to figure it out.”
Starting the day six shots behind early pacesetter Glover, the Holywood star birdied the first two holes.
He’d hand a shot back at the short third and another at the seventh as he hit just one of his first six fairways.
But while he struggled to find the short grass, he made up for that with the blade.
After rolling in a 15-footer for a birdie four at the ninth, he reeled off three birdies in a row to start the back nine, then saved the best for last with that spectacular closing birdie.
“All that stuff’s been sort of cleared out over the years, and you’re just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those,” he said of the pine straw under the trees right of the 18th,” he said.
“I was just trying to chip and run a five iron up around the front of the green and make four and get out of there.
“But, you know, it was a bonus to get it up on the green and hold the putt. It was a lovely way to finish.”
McIlroy was tied for fourth with Min Woo Lee and Billy Horschel, but Shane Lowry and Séamus Power have their work cut out.
Lowry played well but holed little in a level par 72 that left him tied for 62nd, while Power was out of sorts and shot a 76 that left him 116th in the 144-man field.