‘There’s No Intent’: Rory McIlroy Defends 2-Stroke Penalty After Opening-Round Disaster in Abu Dhabi

Golf’s cruelest hazards aren’t always bunkers or water. Sometimes it’s a few blades of grass, a close-up camera angle, and a long wait in the scorer’s hut. Rory McIlroy got reacquainted with that kind of misery at Yas Links, and with a Race to Dubai record on the line, the timing could hardly have been worse. McIlroy initially thought he had carded a 68 in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. However, officials reviewed footage of his 12th-hole incident after his round and handed him a two-shot penalty.