Rory McIlroy receives two‑stroke penalty, falls eight shots behind leader at Abu Dhabi Championship
Rory McIlroy finishes the opening round with a 70 after a two‑stroke penalty for improving his lie on the 12th hole turns his double bogey into an eight‑stroke bogey, leaving him tied 33rd and eight shots off the lead. Francesco Laporta leads the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship with a bogey‑free 62, three shots ahead of the field. Other contenders such as Jon Rahm, Sam Bairstow and Bernd Wiesberger sit at seven under, three strokes back. The penalty was imposed after video review by officials at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi.
Key facts
- McIlroy said he had no intent to improve the lie and accepted the penalty.
- Laporta's 62 was just one stroke shy of the course record at Yas Links.
- The incident was captured on video by Golf Channel and shown to McIlroy after the round.
Summarised with AI from 5 sourcesRead our AI policy
Why it matters
The ruling reshapes the leaderboard and highlights strict enforcement of rules in elite golf.
What changed
First published from Sky Sports, The National, Al-Monitor, Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports