Rory McIlroy hits epic shot where divot goes as far as ball, charges up Italian Open leaderboard

Rory McIlroy produced a jaw-dropping flop shot as he moved to the top of the leaderboard at the Italian Open.

The world No. 2 finished his final hole in near darkness, a number of players were not so fortunate and will need to return on Saturday to complete their second rounds, on a day when play was terribly slow in part due to the difficulty of the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club course.

McIlroy opened his round with four pars on the spin, but that did not tell the whole story as the final one had to be seen to be believed.

His tee shot at the par three was not far off line, but it came to rest in the thick rough to the left of the green.

Playing to a downslope, McIlroy’s options were limited and he went for the highest tariff of all, a high flop shot.

It was not for the faint hearted, as anything but pure contact could have been disastrous. He executed the shot to perfection – and for added style points the divot he took landed further onto the green than the ball.

For good measure, McIlroy rolled in the par putt and one hole later he got his round moving with a birdie.

Second Round Leaderboard

• 1. Rory McIlroy, nine-under
• 2. Matt Fitzpatrick, eight-under
• 3. Tom Lewis, seven-under
• 4. Victor Perez, six-under
• T5. Lucas Herbert, five-under
• T5. Tyrrell Hatton, five-under
• T5. Jordan Smith, five-under
• T5. Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, five-under
• T5. Luke Donald, five-under
• T5. Joost Luiten, five-under

McIlroy’s play was a little mixed around the turn as he made two bogeys and two birdies.

The 12th has proved to be a gift this week and McIlroy devoured the par five, with his eagle taking him to within one of the clubhouse lead of Matt Fitzpatrick.

McIlroy used to be fallible with putter in hand. Intense work with putting guru Brad Faxon has transformed his play on the greens and he rolled in a 25-footer for a birdie on 14 to join Fitzpatrick at the top of the leaderboard.

A rare error from McIlroy resulted in a dropped shot on the 15th. With a short iron in hand from the fairway, he sent the ball long and left and he could only pitch out to 25 feet and the par putt slipped by.

The 16th is a risk-reward driveable par four. McIlroy found the green with his drive and two putts saw him get back to the top of the leaderboard.

Darkness was drawing in and the hooter to suspend play for the day was imminent as McIlroy, Nicolai Hojgaard and Francesco Molinari were on the 17th green.

Upon holing out, Molinari ran up the hill to the 18th tee – well aware of the rule that allows players to finish the hole they are on if the suspension is due to darkness.

Molinari got his tee shot away before the horn sounded, and McIlroy was able to make a closing birdie to take the lead on his own.

Fitzpatrick was one of the players who had to return early on Friday to complete his opening round.

The opening 65 was followed by a 69, which was a blur of birdies and bogeys – seven of the former and five of the latter – as he advanced to eight-under.

Luke Donald’s appearance in the field is in part to win and also a learning curve for his role as Ryder Cup captain at this venue in 2023.

Tom Lewis needs a good end to the season to secure playing rights for next season and his 65 on Friday catapulted him to seven-under.