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 shot 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.
McIlroy started the afternoon at three under, seven shots behind after Scottie Scheffler's seven-under-par 64 on Friday. 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 world No 2 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.
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