Players Championship fans ‘evicted’ after grim comment towards Rory McIlroy as world No.2 assuages Masters fears

Rory McIlroy had to battle hard out on the course at TPC Sawgrass to make the cut for Round 3 of the Players Championship.

That is a far cry from last time out, when the golfer emerged victorious in the Sunshine State of Florida for the second time in his career.

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Having had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a back injury, some feared McIlroy may not even participate as he faced a race against time to get healthy.

The world No. 2 was not at his best on Thursday and shot a two-over 74, which was seven shots off the pace.

McIlroy on the receiving end of more heckling

On Friday, the reining Masters champion improved that score by three strokes, but it wasn’t all plain-sailing by any means.

Out on the course playing with Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele, the Northern Irishman was heckled by a group of spectators on the fourth hold.

They shouted for his ball to find the water after he hit his approach.

Unfortunately for McIlroy, the ball did wind up in a watery grave, though he managed to recover by saving bogey with an 11-foot putt.

“There were screams of ‘get in the water’ from in the gallery up the top of the hill,” on-course commentator, Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley, said on the broadcast, via GolfMagic. “They won’t be here for long.”

The hostile moment between McIlroy and the spectators brought back memories of what he and his family experienced at last year’s Ryder Cup, with them being the subject of verbal abuse from American fans.

His wife, Erica Stroll was even the target of a beer being thrown in her direction, as police wound up intervening and were forced to escort McIlroy as he made his way around the course.

Like the fan who used a homophobic slur at the Ryder Cup, these latest hecklers were also reportedly evicted from TPC Sawgrass, according to a report from The Telegraph.

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McIlroy may not have heard the heckling, as he didn’t mention it in his post-round interview, instead expressing frustration that he didn’t do better out on the course.

When asked he if felt good, he said: “Not really. “I wish I was further up the leaderboard.

“I felt like I played well enough today to be up the leaderboard, I just couldn’t get a putt to drop. 

“I feel like I hit the ball a bit better today than I did yesterday also, so hopefully I’ve done enough to get into the weekend and have another two days at it.”

McIlroy later said: “It’s funny. On the last hole there, Bones [Jim Mackay, the former caddie turned TV analyst] asked me what my plans were for the next few weeks.

“I replied, ‘Bones, ask me after this hole – there’s a lot riding on it!’ Yeah, there was pride in making this cut.

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“I have 280-odd starts on the PGA Tour and I’ve missed maybe less than 30 cuts. So, I’m proud of that.

“But if I’d have missed this one, I probably would have had to add an event going into The Masters.”

Can start thinking more about his title defense

With him making it to the weekend, the 36-year-old now gets to enjoy a three-week break to recover from his back injury before beginning his title defence at The Masters.

“It feels pretty much there,” he said of his injury. “Not all the way there, but it’s progressively getting better each and every day.”

“That’s because I’m a little more upright with the driver and with the longer stuff,” McIlroy added.

“It’s more when I get over it. So when I was chipping yesterday or like when the ball was below my feet, I had a hard time trusting it.

“But today was fine. I didn’t really feel anything.”

Going into Augusta on April 9, McIlroy has the opportunity to join an elite club of just Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Sir Nick Faldo as the only golfers to ever win back-to-back Green Jackets.

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