Thursday 28 September 2017 15:34, UK
Rory McIlroy was indebted to the eagle eyes of a spectator and an excellent recovery shot as he salvaged a par on the 17th hole in the opening round of the British Masters, supported by Sky Sports.
McIlroy produced a wild drive on the 350-yard par four at Close House and his ball ended up in the deep rough to the right of the fairway after travelling 310 yards.
However, a spectator managed to find the ball inside the five-minute time limit and the Northern Irishman was able to play his second shot, with 61 yards remaining to the pin.
That still left McIlroy in a tricky position, though, and he was forced to gouge the ball out, which he skilfully did as he found the elevated green with his chip from the rough. He was then able to get down in two putts for a four.
The former world No 1, who started on the 10th, stayed level par thanks to his efforts and he kept a bogey off his card for the remainder of his round - and added three birdies on the front-nine - as he signed for a three-under 67.
When asked about his round afterwards, McIlroy replied: "It was okay. I didn't feel like I did anything particularly great but I didn't do anything really bad.
"I hit one bad tee shot on 17 which nearly cost me. It looked like a lost ball for a while but we were able to find it. That was good."
