Rory McIlroy Faces Setback at Australian Open Due to Unfortunate Incident

Rory McIlroy’s pursuit of victory at the Australian Open took an unexpected turn on December 2, 2023, as a banana skin contributed to a setback in his third round at Royal Melbourne. The world number two found himself nine strokes behind the leader, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who maintained a strong position at the top of the leaderboard.

As McIlroy began his round, he opened with a par but quickly encountered trouble at the par-four second hole. After missing the fairway, his ball landed near a tuft of grass, directly under a discarded banana skin. The situation left him unable to remove the skin without risking a penalty for moving the ball. McIlroy could only manage a weak shot of ten meters, resulting in a double-bogey that set him back early in the round.

Despite this challenging start, McIlroy rebounded by securing a birdie on the following hole. He finished the day with a score of 68, which included six birdies and a bogey. Reflecting on the incident, he remarked, “It was sort of a double whammy. I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. It was a terrible tee shot. It wasn’t the best way to start, but I felt like I played well after that.”

With a total score of 14-under-par, Neergaard-Petersen leads the tournament by two strokes. His impressive round of 66 included three birdies and has positioned him as a strong contender for his first European Tour title. Following him closely are notable players including Cameron Smith, Kim Si-woo, and Carlos Ortiz, all of whom are within striking distance.

Smith, the 2022 Open champion, shot a 66 but experienced a frustrating end to his round with a bogey on the final hole. “I just feel like I didn’t have my best stuff out there today,” Smith admitted, acknowledging his recent struggles after missing seven consecutive cuts, including all four majors this year. “I’ll probably go hit a few balls now, just clean up some stuff,” he added, looking ahead to the final round.

As the tournament progresses, McIlroy acknowledged the challenge ahead, stating, “Probably going to be a little too far behind to try to challenge tomorrow. But I’ll try to end the week on a positive note and go out there and shoot my lowest score of the week.”

In a tightly contested event, Jose Luis Ballester sits just a shot behind McIlroy, while Australians Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee, along with New Zealander Daniel Hillier, are also in the mix as they aim for a strong finish in the final round.

The stage is set for an exciting conclusion at the Australian Open, with Neergaard-Petersen looking to fend off a talented field eager to challenge for the title.