Rory McIlroy might have made history when he hit two golf balls at once during the 153rd Open Championship.
While competing in the third round on Saturday, July 19, McIlroy, 36, swung his wedge only to unearth a second ball that, unbeknownst to him, had been sitting underneath. As the second ball emerged, McIlroy exclaimed in a video shared by The Athletic, “Oh, my God.”
McIlroy quickly bent down to pick up the second ball, before laughing alongside others. “There was a ball there!” an announcer said. “Oh, my Gosh.” The Athletic captioned the clip, “Rory McIlroy made another ball appear.”
After the round, McIlroy said that he “honestly” was unsure what had transpired on the course. “That is the most weird, ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” McIlroy said, per CNN. “Then my ball came out really weird and spinny. Yeah, just so strange.”
Scottie Scheffler ultimately reigned victorious at the Northern Ireland tournament held at Royal Portrush Golf Club. Ahead of the tournament, McIlroy reflected on his return to the course.
“When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was circled, even more so than the Masters,” McIlroy said earlier this month, according to ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti.
McIlroy took home a Masters win for the first time in April, making history as the sixth golfer to win a career grand slam.
“I’ve done something that I’ve told everyone that I wanted to do, but then it’s like I still feel like I have a lot more to give,” McIlroy added. “I still feel like there’s a lot left in there. The story certainly isn’t over.”
Between the tournaments, McIlroy had a brief, two-week hiatus where he “mentally” reset with wife Erica Stoll and their 4-year-old daughter, Poppy. (McIlory and Stoll, now 37, tied the knot in 2017. The pro golfer filed for divorce from Stoll after seven years of marriage in 2024, but dismissed the filing one month later.)
“We came back a few weeks ago and moved into our new home in Wentworth [England] and have been trying to settle in,” McIlroy told reporters in June. “It’s amazing what two weeks of a bit of detachment can do for you.”
He added, “Sitting there being with your own thoughts for a while. It’s been nice to have this time to reflect and also to rekindle my excitement and enthusiasm for the rest of the year.”
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