
Watch: Rory McIlroy bizarrely hits two balls at the same time
The Northern Irishman was left startled to the point of laughing after somehow unearthing a hidden ball while hacking his own ball from the rough.
He had hit his tee wide ride of the fairway on the 11th before aiming his second shot at the green when the bizarre incident unfolded. His effort took a fair chunk of grass and mud with him as his ball arrowed in the right direction while another ball hidden in the rough chipped up towards him.
McIlroy then smiled and held up the random ball to a surprised crowd who will have been waiting for video replays to establish what exactly had happened. The shot took place midway through a dramatic round for McIlroy which had been captivating the home crowd.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS BEFORE?! 🤯
A second ball appears as Rory McIlroy plays his shot 😱 pic.twitter.com/iQX29qxc69
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 19, 2025
McIlroy started the afternoon at three under, seven shots behind after Scheffler's seven-under-par Friday 64. There had been a string of early birdies before a bogey on the 11th, but the biggest Rory roar would erupt on the following hole as he sunk from 56 feet to secure an eagle which moved him to seven under.
The home crowd LOVE IT! ❤️
HUGE eagle putt from Rory McIlroy 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VDZtyViZmX
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 19, 2025
The world number two had said prior to today's action that he 'could be a couple closer to the lead' but he feels he is in a 'decent' position. The five-time major winner on Friday shot a second-round 69, one stroke better than he managed on Thursday.
He failed to make the cut when the championship was last staged at Portrush in 2019. 'It was a hard pill to swallow, but at the same time, I left myself too much to do,' he said of his opening-round 79 in 2019, when he eventually missed the cut by a shot.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
England vs Italy LIVE RESULT: Kelly's extra-time strike completes incredible comeback and fires Lionesses to Euros final
Fans cheering on Lionesses to comeback Whether it be in the stadium itself, or back home in the UK, nerves were shot to bits this evening. England tend to do things the dramatic way and tonight was no different. They were heading out of the tournament before Michelle Agyemang grabbed a late equaliser. From that point, you felt this was the Lionesses game to lose but Italy were no pushovers. Seeing Kelly's penalty saved, heads were in hands, until she slotted home the rebound and everyone erupted in delirium.


The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Wednesday's briefing: Lionesses do it the hard way while Rangers start with win
Reigning champions England reached the Euro 2025 final thanks to a dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over Italy in Geneva. Tributes were paid to European Cup winners Joey Jones and John Fallon, while Russell Martin made a winning start as Rangers boss. Elsewhere, Crystal Palace took their Europa League fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. England produced another remarkable comeback to scrape into the final of Euro 2025. The Lionesses, who came from two goals down to defeat Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals, were on the brink of elimination against Italy before 19-year-old striker Michelle Agyemang equalised in the sixth minute of added time. With a minute remaining in extra time, fellow substitute Chloe Kelly sent Sarina Wiegman's side through by finishing on the rebound after her penalty was saved by goalkeeper Laura Giuliani. England, who trailed to Barbara Bonansea's 33rd-minute opener, will face Spain or Germany in Sunday's final in Basel. Football mourns Jones and Fallon Tributes were paid to former Liverpool and Wales defender Joey Jones and ex-Celtic goalkeeper John Fallon. Jones, who died at the age of 70, was capped 72 times by Wales and won two European Cups, a UEFA Cup and a league title at Anfield, in addition to representing Wrexham, Chelsea and Huddersfield. Celtic later announced the death of Fallon – the 12th Lisbon Lion – at the age of 84. He was the club's sole substitute when Jock Stein's side beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the Portuguese capital to win the European Cup in 1967. Martin makes winning start Ibrox roared as Russell Martin's first competitive game as Rangers boss brought an encouraging 2-0 win over 10-man Panathinaikos. Maiden goals for the Scottish club from 19-year-old winger Findlay Curtis and debutant Djeidi Gassama settled the first leg of the Champions League second round qualifier. Former Southampton boss Martin, who became the permanent successor to Philippe Clement in early June, could easily have seen his new side fall behind as the Greek visitors bossed most of the first half. But Curtis fired Rangers into a 52nd-minute lead before his replacement Gassama – signed last week from Sheffield Wednesday – added a thunderous second following the dismissal of Panathinaikos right-back Giorgos Vagiannidis for a second yellow card. Palace await their European fate Crystal Palace will learn no later than August 11 which European competition they will play in next season after submitting an appeal to the CAS. The south London club, who won last season's FA Cup, were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA's rules governing multi-club ownership. European football's governing body determined that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor had control or influence in both Palace and French club Lyon. Where one or more club are found to have shared ownership, they cannot play in the same competition. Lyon held on to the Europa League spot by virtue of their higher league position, while Palace's place was taken by Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest. What's on today England will discover their Euro 2025 final opponents when world champions Spain take on Euro 2022 runners-up Germany in Zurich.


Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
The comeback queens - these Lionesses never give in
When all seems lost, these Lionesses find a way to rescue it. The comebacks queens, always coming back for more. And now into a third consecutive final with a chance to defend their European crown. But even Sarina Wiegman feared they would be flying home today when the clock hit 88 minutes in the semi-final with Italy and they were still trailing 1-0. Just why had the defence been picked apart too easily again in the first half to concede to give Barbara Bonansea the space and time to score? Just why were Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp, in particular, not clinical enough? 0:25 Maybe that is a recipe for success rather than a desperate rescue mission. Because when Wiegman saw there would be seven minutes of stoppage time, suddenly there was hope again. Especially as five minutes earlier, the manager had brought on Michelle Agyemang. It's a lot to rely on a 19-year-old. But this is a striker who scored 41 seconds into her international debut as a substitute in April. And she scored the equaliser that sent the quarterfinal into extra time last week before England beat Sweden on penalties. Now the weight of the nation was on her shoulders again - and she delivered in the sixth of the seven minutes of injury time. "She has something special," Wiegman said. "She's very mature, she knows exactly what she has to do. "When you talk about little things that she picks up straight away, because she's not only in the 18-yard box very dangerous but when we have to go to her as a target player, she keeps the ball really well too." The Arsenal forward even hit the crossbar in extra time before the Wembley winner from the final three years ago showed again why she's a super-sub. Just when it seemed England would need to win another shootout, Beth Mead was brought down and now they had one penalty to win it. Chloe Kelly was denied but alert to pounce on the rebound. And with a 2-1 win, England will go the distance for a third tournament in a row. No England team has ever previously enjoyed such a deep run. For Kelly it will be a second final of the year after winning the Champions League with Arsenal. But it is a year that began despondent at Manchester City before securing a move to the Gunners. "The moments when in January I felt like giving up football makes you so grateful for these moments here today, and this makes you enjoy every minute of that," Kelly said. "I think confidence comes from within, but from around you as well. The players that we stand side by side with on the pitch, give confidence in each other." And England will certainly feel confident. These Lionesses never give in. How many teams would want to bottle up that fighting spirit and resilience? "When it finishes like this I am enjoying it but it's a little bit dramatic," said Wiegman, who has now reached an unprecedented five tournament finals with the Netherlands and England.