Rory McIlroy looks on in utter bemusement as spectator grabs a club from his bag then takes a few practice swings on the 10th tee in bizarre scenes at the Scottish Open
- Footage on social media showed a man take one of Rory McIlory’s clubs
- McIlroy was waiting to play his tee shot on the 10th hole at the Renaissance Club
- The spectator was quickly dealt with by security staff after the incident
- Players laughed it off, saying they knew by his grip that he wasn’t a golfer
Rory McIlroy‘s second round of the Scottish Open got off to a bizarre start on Friday morning after a spectator took a club from the four-time major winner’s bag on the 10th tee.
McIlroy, 32, was waiting to get his round under way at 8am at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick alongside recently-crowned US Open champion Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas.
But while McIlroy and Rahm appeared to be in conversation, footage on social media showed a man walk on to the tee and take the distinctive dog head cover off McIlroy’s driver.
A spectator casually walked on the the 10th tee and removed Rory McIlory’s dog headcover
The spectator then took the club and swung it a few times before being led away by security
McIlory looked on in disbelief as the man took his club and then practised with it
The intruder dropped the head cover on the ground and started swinging the club before security and the starter got involved.
He then went back for more and grabbed an iron from McIlroy’s bag as the former world No 1 looked on in apparent bemusement.
The man was eventually escorted off the tee by a security guard after handing the club to McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond.
He desperately tried to keep hold of McIlroy’s head cover but was forced to give it back to the four-time major champion before being ejected from the course.
An onlooker told The Scotsman: ‘He was standing at the back of the tee and went over to Rory’s bag, took out the driver and had a couple of swings with it.
McIlroy was preparing for his second round when the incident unfolded in North Berwick
McIlroy has played with Jon Rahm (centre) and Justin Thomas (right) on the first two days
He put the distraction on the 10th tee behind him early on, however, as he birdied the 18th
‘When someone told him that he couldn’t do that, he replied by saying “why not?”
‘At that point, the security people assigned to following the group moved in and took him away.’
David Wilson, a member of nearby club Kilspindie who posted the footage, added: ‘He was quickly dealt with. The players laughed it off, saying they knew he wasn’t a golfer when they saw his grip.’
McIlroy, ranked No 11 in the world, birdied two of his last three holes to complete a one-under round of 70 on Thursday.
He put the distraction on the 10th tee behind him early on, however, as he birdied the 18th to improve to three under par, eight shots off the pace.