A smiling Rory McIlroy offered to sign a bag of frozen peas for his father, Gerry, after hitting him on the leg with an iron shot during the first round of the Masters. McIlroy Sr. walked away with a grin from the incident along Augusta National’s 7th green. Rory, from 180 yards away, immediately realizes that it is Gerry who he hit with an intended hook behind a tree holding instead. After a scream of ‘Fore’ from his son, the ball landed on Gerry’s lower leg, but apparently did no significant damage.
“I tried to turn the ball away from him,” said the four-time big winner. ‘It was a perfect shot; it was dead right. But I think he was OK. He did not limp, he walked away quickly, so that was right. I knew it was my dad when I aimed at him, so probably 30 seconds before I hit it. ‘
The event for golfers who hit spectators with stray shots is to give a signature of a glove as an excuse. “He’s seen me draw very well over the years, so I think that’s the least of his worries,” McIlroy added. “I think he should just put on ice. Maybe I’ll sign a bag of frozen peas for him. ‘
McIlroy’s mood was visibly improved by a decent finish to one on a cruelly difficult day in Georgia.
The 31-year-old was five over after 14 holes, but recovered to sign for a four-over-76. In the context of high points and the sustained swing work of McIlroy, it was quite disastrous.
“Honestly, I’m very encouraged about how I got it on the road,” McIlroy added. ‘I hit some loose shots there, but after hitting the six-iron at 13 in the water, I hit some good shots. It was just one of those days that I was not very efficient with my marks.
“I was hanging out there. I could have made a few more birdies, but it’s not like anyone’s going really low out there. ’65-year-old Justin Rose was still coming when he spoke.
McIlroy spent a short time with Pete Cowen, the well-known English coach, who was recently added to the world’s number 12 team.