Golf is a game of millimeters, but usually, those millimeters involve just one ball. That changed during the third round of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. If you blinked, you probably missed it. If you were watching the broadcast, you likely thought the camera was glitching. Basically, Rory McIlroy hits two balls with a single swing, and the footage is as surreal as it sounds.
He was standing in the thick, matted rough on the 11th hole. It’s the kind of grass that swallows golf balls whole. Rory took a lash at his Titleist, expecting a "flier"—that classic shot where the grass reduces spin and the ball jumps off the face. Instead, something jumped out of the ground like a startled rabbit.
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One ball went toward the green. Another ball, a completely different one, popped straight up into the air and landed nearly at his feet.
The Anatomy of a Freak Occurrence
How does this even happen? Links courses like Portrush are famous for their deep, fescue-heavy rough. Over the course of a tournament—or years of amateur play—balls get lost. They don't just sit on top; they sink. They get buried by the elements or stepped on by spectators.
In this specific case, another player's lost ball was embedded directly beneath Rory's. He couldn't see it. Caddie Harry Diamond couldn't see it. When McIlroy’s clubhead carved through the turf, the physics were simple but devastating. The force of the impact transmitted through the earth (and his own ball) to the "hidden" ball underneath.
It was a total fluke. Honestly, the odds are astronomical.
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Rory McIlroy Hits Two Balls: The Rules and the Result
The first question everyone asked—besides "did I just see that?"—was whether there would be a penalty. Golf rules are notoriously pedantic. If you hit a wrong ball, it's usually a two-stroke disaster. But the USGA and R&A rules are actually quite sensible here.
Under Rule 10.1, a player must fairly strike the ball. Since Rory intended to hit his own ball and the second one was hidden/embedded, there was no penalty for the contact itself. The "wrong ball" rule didn't apply because he didn't play the other ball as his own; he simply unearthed it during a legal stroke.
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- The Shot: His actual ball came out "weird and spinny," as Rory put it later.
- The Damage: Because the energy of the swing was split between two objects, his ball fell well short of the green.
- The Souvenir: A fan named Harry Bingham ended up with the "rogue" ball after Rory tossed it aside in disbelief.
McIlroy didn't let the weirdness ruin his day, though he did card a bogey on that hole. He followed the incident with a massive 55-foot eagle putt on the 12th, proving that the golf gods sometimes give back what they take away with freak physics.
Why This Matters for Your Own Game
Most of us aren't playing in front of thousands at Portrush, but "hidden" hazards are real. If you’re ever in deep rough and feel a "double thud" or see two white objects flying, don't panic.
- Identify your ball immediately. Don't play the next shot until you are 100% sure which ball is yours.
- Check for damage. If the impact with a buried ball scuffed your actual ball, you might be entitled to replace it under specific conditions (Rule 4.2c).
- Consult the group. In a casual round, just laugh it off. In a tournament, call a rules official before you do anything.
The Rory McIlroy hits two balls incident will likely go down as the "glitch in the matrix" moment of the 2025 season. It serves as a reminder that even for the best in the world, the course always has a few secrets buried under the surface.
If you ever find yourself in a similar spot, the best move is to verify your lie before the swing if possible. If the grass is too thick to see what's underneath, you’re playing a lottery. Rory lost that specific draw, but he won the crowd’s respect for how he handled the absurdity of it all.