Masters patron risks lifetime ban with bizarre heckle at Rory McIlroy

A rowdy patron has risked never coming back to Augusta National following a bizarre heckle aimed at Rory McIlroy.

As McIlroy let fly with his driver on the 17th hole on Saturday, a fan behind the tee box could be heard shouting out the now-infamous ‘Give me back my son’ taunt.

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The Masters take a very dim view on such things and will have acted quick to single out the supporter and almost certainly escorted him off the premises.

Fans are not allowed to run at Augusta and attendees are expected to maintain a high etiquette standards, such as wearing collared shirts and not wearing hats backwards.

Former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia was reportedly thrown out of Augusta earlier this week for using his mobile phone, another strict no-no.

Justin Rose’s caddie Mark Fulcher also had to lambast some noisy fans as the Englishman lined up a shot in the third round.

While unconfirmed, the fan on the 17th tee box could now find himself with a lifetime ban, especially given how notable the heckle was on television broadcasts.

The ‘give me back my son’ chant is derived from Mel Gibson’s famous line in the 1996 thriller movie Ransom and has become a fan-favourite similar to ‘baba booey’ and ‘mashed potatoes’.

It’s not something usually heard at Augusta, however, and was also untimely as it added to McIlroy’s Saturday woes.

Boasting a historic 6-shot lead at the start of the third round, McIlroy is now tied at the top after a damaging 73.

He bogeyed the 17th hole following that heckle to add to a double at 11 and two other dropped shots on the day, as he let the chasing pack reel him in to set up what should be a thrilling finale.

McIlroy headed straight to the practice ground range to iron out his problems as he looks to defend of his Masters title.

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The troubles off the tee which he has been successfully managing all week cost him dearly and he immediately retired to the practice facility to find a fix.

“The course was obviously gettable, there was a lot of good scores out there, and the quality of the chasing pack is obvious,” said McIlroy.

“There’s a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow. I’m still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can’t forget that, but I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.

“I’m in the final group. I just need to go to the range and try to figure it out a little bit.

“When you’re not quite feeling it, you struggle. You have to dig deep and I felt like I did that on the front nine and made a lot of good par saves.

“I missed a couple of chances on eight and nine and then I thought I turned the round around with the birdie on 10.

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“I felt like I hit a pretty good second shot on 11 but it just drifted on the wind a little bit and went in the water. Those two holes (11 and 12) weren’t great.

“But again I felt like I bounced back pretty well with the birdies on 14 and 15. It would have been nice to play those last few holes and not make that bogey on 17 but, you know, I still have a great chance.”

McIlroy will begin his final round at 7:25pm UK time tonight and is in the final group alongside American Cameron Young.

Young shot a stunning 65 on Saturday to vault up the leaderboard and is looking to replicate McIlroy’s achievement from last year by winning the Players and then the Masters.

Sam Burns, Shane Lowry, Jason Day and Justin Rose are all within just three shots of the top.