© Provided by For The Win Rory McIlroy's start to his first round at The Players Championship was a watery mess. On the 18th hole on Thursday, McIlroy put two balls in the water, both off the tee.
It was not reminiscent of 2020, when he won the tournament,
On both shots off the 18th tee, he seemed to be trying to draw the ball around the left-curving fairway. But on both instances, the ball hooked too far to the left and ended up in the water. Because of the brutal showing on 18, McIlroy was +7 after nine holes. He wasn't the only star to struggle at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Tony Finau was also plummeting down the leaderboard after nine.
Here's a look at both brutal shots.
Here's a look at the scoring of the gaffes.
That left golf fans to mercilessly mock the McIlroy.
Brutal start.
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