Rory McIlroy shares his thoughts after accidentally breaking a rare rule at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning the Race to Dubai took a hit when he was given a two-stroke penalty for accidentally improving his lie at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. The two-time Masters winner spoke openly about what happened.
McIlroy began the week in third place in the season-long Race to Dubai standings as he aims for his eighth title, which would tie the record. At the Abu Dhabi event, he started six strokes behind the leader, Francesco Laporta, after making three birdies in his last five holes.
However, he was penalized for improving his lie on the par-four 12th hole. This turned his double-bogey six into a quadruple-bogey eight, leaving him with a two-under 70 for the round.
On the 12th at Yas Links, McIlroy’s approach shot landed in the rough but rolled back into a divot near his feet. Before his next shot, he made a practice swing in the rough, which accidentally pressed down the grass behind the ball. Although the video didn’t clearly show this, it was ruled a breach of Rule 8.1b, which only allows a player to lightly ground their club right in front of or behind the ball.
After about 15 minutes with referee Simon Higginbottom and his playing partners Patrick Reed and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, McIlroy was given the penalty. He quickly said he did not intend to improve his lie.
“They showed me video from 12,” McIlroy explained. “I hit my first chip shot down the hill, and it didn’t get up, so it rolled back into a divot. I was just trying to get a feel for the lie. On the close-up, you can see some grass lays down where I put my club behind the ball. The grass doesn’t bounce back completely. There was no intent. I play by the rules and try to avoid these situations, but the video doesn’t look good.
“Honestly, I was just trying to feel the lie since the ball was in a sandy divot. I wanted to see if I could hit a shot with a 54-degree wedge on the back of the ball. In the process, a piece of grass was laid down. The rule says if you press down the grass, it’s a penalty. I don’t feel like I pressed down, but I don’t want people thinking I got away with something. So, I’m happy to take the two-shot penalty and move on.”
McIlroy will start tomorrow two-under par and eight shots behind Laporta, meaning he has a big task ahead if he wants to keep his Race to Dubai title.
Interestingly, his penalty was similar to one Bryson DeChambeau received at the 2026 Open for accidentally trampling the grass behind his ball.
The DP World Tour released a statement saying: “After reviewing the footage, McIlroy couldn’t say if he pressed the club on the ground. But because of his concerns about how it might look, he chose to take the two-stroke penalty.”
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, who leads the Race to Dubai standings, defended McIlroy when asked about the incident. “I don’t think he improved his lie,” he said. “The referee and Rory saw it differently. The video doesn’t look great, but we’ve watched Rory a long time. He’s a great guy and doesn’t try to improve his lies.”