RORY McILROY HAD another eventful round at the BMW Championship at Castle Pines, where he shot a 71 to leave himself on six under overall, in a tie for 11th – and six strokes behind winner Keegan Bradley. 

The Northern Irishman had to play without a driver for the second half of his round after accidentally snapping the club in two while leaning on it bending down to put in his tee in the ground at the ninth hole. He was not allowed to replace it under PGA rules.

😲 Rory McIlroy driver snap ☠️ @TrackingRory

pic.twitter.com/XGYafvuJda

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) August 25, 2024

The world No 3 then hit a wayward shot with his ball coming to rest on a bank just above the water. 

Checking in on Rory McIlroy ... pic.twitter.com/vHFDQRhzgb

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2024

So for his second shot, McIlroy took off his shoes and socks and balanced one foot on a rock and one in the water. Yet he managed to hit his approach shot into the green and save par.

Rory McIlroy from the water hazard. How good is this shot.

pic.twitter.com/u2qzCUUgDK

— Tour Pro 🏌️‍♂️ (@OfficialTourPro) August 25, 2024

McIlroy had bogies today on holes 1, 7, 10 and 13 but birdies on 6, 11, 14, 16 and 17 helped him to a one-under par 71.

His scoring was consistent over the championship, with 70s on Thursday and Saturdays and 71s on Friday and Sunday.

Shane Lowry also carded a 71 today to finish just one shot behind McIlroy on five-under. The Offaly man ended up in a tie for 13th. 

Both McIlroy and Lowry are among the top 30 in the FedExCup standings after the BMW Championship and qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake next week, and maintain their hopes of a FedExCup title.  

You can see the final leaderboard here.

Written by The 42 and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.