Rory Magic at Royal Melbourne
News

2 MIN READ

December 5, 2025

Rory Magic at Royal Melbourne

McIlroy whiffed a shot, then proceeded to make three birdies in his final four holes—dawg!

By

&

Riley Hamel

On very, very few occasions while I’m sitting on the couch, judging the world’s best players and how they’re performing under immense pressure, I’ll think, “I could’ve hit a better shot there.” Ridiculous? Yeah, probably, but in this latest case...hear me out.

During the second round of the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne, Rory McIlroy’s ball came to rest under a tree. It left him with one option: just punch it out of there. Not only was he unsuccessful, my man missed the ball completely. And not just by an inch or two, it looks like he missed it by a foot.

I watched it and said, "I've probably been in that exact situation 100 times, I could've done better there. Rory's never in a spot like that!"

He went on to make bogey on the par 5, but bounced back quickly with an impressive birdie at the 15th.

RELATED: The Australian Open is Going to Be Golf Heaven

And the roller coaster didn’t stop there.

On the 17th, McIlroy hit an outrageous shot from right of the fairway that found the green and set up an easy birdie.

A hole later, the Northern Irishman stuffed a wedge to close out his day with three birdies in his final four holes to finish off a 3-under 68.

He might be seven back of the lead, but the 25,000 fans slated to be on site Saturday will have one goal during the third round: get a glimpse of the Career Grand Slam winner.

skratch logo

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Get our top stories in your inbox, including the latest drops in style, the need-to-know news in pro golf, and the latest episodes of Skratch’s original series.

golf stick

RELATED ARTICLES

Police Report Says Prescription Pills Were Found in Tiger Woods’ Pocket After Crash

Police Report Says Prescription Pills Were Found in Tiger Woods’ Pocket After Crash

By Riley Hamel

logo

Skratch 2026 © All rights reserved

Follow us on social media

Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.