McIlroy Hit With Two-Shot Penalty for Improving Lie at Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy has been given a two-shot penalty for improving his lie during the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship, turning a four-under 68 into a two-under 70. A player's lie is the spot where the ball comes to rest, and improving it is against the rules even when the change is small.

The ruling concerned the par-four 12th at Yas Links. Before chipping from behind the green, McIlroy pressed down grass behind his ball with his club. Officials judged that he had improved his lie, and the penalty was assessed after he had finished the round on Thursday, according to the BBC.

On that hole, McIlroy's score moved from a six to a quadruple-bogey eight. A bogey is one shot over par for a hole, so a quadruple-bogey is four over. The eight was the only time he dropped shots in the round.

The penalty leaves him tied on two under with Eugenio Chacarra, who leads the Race to Dubai, the DP World Tour's season-long points race. Patrick Reed, who opened with a 74, sits second in that standings one place ahead of McIlroy. McIlroy is chasing an eighth Race to Dubai title, which would equal the record. He is eight shots behind the opening-round leader, Francesco Laporta.

McIlroy said he had no intention of improving his lie and that he was happy to accept the two-shot penalty. Before the event, he had said he was keen to win for the first time at Yas Links, a goal that is still open to him.

For a player, a penalty like this is hard to swallow because the movement is so small. Pressing grass with a club is the kind of thing a golfer can do without thinking, which is why the rules do not ask whether it was deliberate. The penalty does not reflect the strokes he struck. It reflects a single moment of contact on one hole, and it is the reason a round that looked like four under now reads two under.

Scores can change quickly in this event, and the standings below the leaders are close. For now, the 12th hole stands as the story of the opening round.